Dr. George H. Quester graduated from Columbia College and earned his doctorate in political science from Harvard University. He spent more than 50 years teaching and writing on arms control, international politics, American foreign policy, and military strategy, most notably as a Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland. He also taught at Cornell, Harvard, and UCLA, served in the Department of Military Strategy at the National War College, and spent a year at Stanford's Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. From 1991 to 1993 he was the Olin Visiting Professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, and after retiring from Maryland he became the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Visiting Professor of International Affairs at George Washington University's Elliott School. He lectured overseas frequently, including repeated visits to Peking and Fudan Universities in China.

Dr. Quester wrote more than a dozen books on nuclear strategy and international security, among them Deterrence Before Hiroshima, The Politics of Nuclear Proliferation, Nuclear First Strike, and Nuclear Zero? He was a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Council on Foreign Relations.

He died July 3, 2023, in Arlington, Virginia, at age 86. Away from his work, he enjoyed traveling with his wife, watching the Yankees, reading history, and was a lifelong railroad and subway buff and an avid stamp collector.

He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Aline Quester; their children, Theodore Quester and Amy Quester; and five grandchildren.