High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Samuel Phillips Huntington (April 18, 1927 December 24, 2008) was an American political scientist who gained wider prominence through his Clash of Civilizations (1993, 1996) thesis of a post-Cold War new world order. Huntington was born on April 18, 1927, in New York City. He graduated with distinction from Yale University at age 18, served in the U.S. Army, earned his Master's degree from the University of Chicago, and completed his Ph.D. at Harvard University where he began teaching at age 23.