Asa Briggs

Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs (born May 7, 1921 in Keighley , † March 15, 2016 in Lewes ) was a British historian and life peer . He was considered one of the most respected historians of the Victorian era . In particular, his trilogy Victorian People , Victorian Cities and Victorian Things gave a lasting impression of how British historians in the 20th century viewed the 19th century. In 1976 he became a life peer.

life and career

Briggs was born in Keighley in 1921, where he attended Grammar School . At Sidney Sussex College of Cambridge University , he reached the level of a 1941 Bachelor of Arts , at the University of London he achieved in 1941 the degree of BSc in Economics .

From 1941 to 1945 Briggs worked at the Intelligence Corps Bletchley Park research facility , where he was involved in deciphering the Enigma .

Briggs was Chancellor of the Open University from 1978 to 1994 . 1976-1991 he was Provost of Worcester College of the University of Oxford .

After the war he was elected a Fellow of Worcester College (1945-55) and was appointed University Reader in Recent Social and Economic History (1950-55). He was a Faculty Fellow at Nuffield College from 1953 to 1955 and a member of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton Township, New Jersey from 1953 to 1954 .

From 1955 to 1961 he was Professor of Modern History at the University of Leeds .

From 1961 to 1976 he was professor of history at the University of Sussex , while at the same time from 1961 to 1965 Dean of the School of Social Studies , 1961-1967 Pro Vice-Chancellor and 1967-1976 Vice-Chancellor (Vice-Chancellor) was. On June 4, 2008, the University of Sussex's Arts 1 and 2 lecture halls, designed by Basil Spence , were renamed in his honor.

He was honored with an honorary doctorate from the university in May 1979. He has been an Honorary Fellow of Sidney Sussex College since 1968, Worcester College since 1969 and St Catharine's College since 1977 .

He was visiting professor at the Gannett Center for Media Studies at Columbia University in the late 1980s and again at the renamed Freedom Forum Media Studies Center from 1995 to 1996.

He wrote a five volume text on the history of broadcasting in the United Kingdom, particularly the history of the BBC from 1922 to 1974.

In 1987 Briggs was invited to become President of the Brontë Society , a literary society founded in Haworth in 1893 . He led the celebrations for the 100th anniversary in 1993 and remained in office until 1996.

A Social History of the Media: From Gutenberg to the Internet

Briggs wrote this book with Peter Burke in 2002 , researching the social implications of media. A special focus is the initiation of cultural changes through the printing press or its effect as a catalyst for change within society. The authors emphasize that the invention of the printing press had an impact on professions in European cities. As the printer's profession emerged, a new social group also emerged. Editing positions were also created after the number of bookstores increased. Elizabeth Eisenstein also argued that pressure was an underrated "agent of change". She found that "pressure standardized and sustained knowledge," but also stimulated new ideas, including criticism of authority and society, allowing a variety of ideas and voices.

Briggs and Burke discussed that there are five types of reading: "critical reading, dangerous reading, creative reading, extensive reading, private reading" (Briggs and Burke, 2002).

Membership in the House of Lords

On July 19, 1976, he was named Life Peer as Baron Briggs , of Lewes in the County of East Sussex. He gave his inaugural address in the House of Lords on February 19, 1979. He sat there as a crossbencher .

On the website of the House of Lords, he named education and social policy as his political interests. He named France , Portugal and the USA as states of interest .

From 1996 to 2002 he was chairman of the Eurydice Consultative Committee .

He spoke out on the Nurses, Midwives And Health Visitors Bill in 1979 . In the 1980s he spoke on the subjects of a Council Bill , a Commons Amendment and an Education Reform Bill . In the 1990s (1996) he spoke up on the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Bill . On September 10, 2004 Briggs spoke for the last time, on the subject of the Dictionary of National Biography .

Briggs was present very sporadically in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was absent from the 2006/2007 session. Since June 21, 2012 he was on leave of absence issued by the House of Lords .

Further offices and honors

Briggs was from 1970 to 1972 Chairman (Chairman) of the Committee on Nursing , the Advisory Board of the Redundant Churches from 1983 to 1988 and from 1988 to 1993 Briggs was Chairman of the Commonwealth of Learning .

From 1976 to 1984 he was Chair of the European Institute of Education and Social Policy in Paris . At the United Nations University Briggs was from (1997 to 1980?) Vice-chair .

In 1982 he was awarded the Marconi Medal of the French Academy of Architecture's medal for formation and teaching . He received the Snow Medal in 1991 . In 2000 Briggs was awarded the Wolfson prize for history . He was a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers and a Fellow of the British Academy . In 1970 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

Working in public

On the occasion of his 80th birthday, the Asa Briggs History Awards were established.

On the occasion of his 90th birthday, he gave a talk and reception at the University of Sussex . At the same time he published his memoirs, in which he also reported on his war experiences.

family

Briggs had been married to Susan Anne Banwell since 1955. The couple had two sons and two daughters.

Publications (selection)

• The Age of Improvement, 1783-1867 , Harlow: Pearson, 1959, 2nd edition 2000, ISBN 978-0-582-36959-7
• Victorian Cities , Penguin Books Ltd, 1968, ISBN 978-0-14-020944-0
• Victorian People , Penguin Books Ltd, 1970, ISBN 978-0-14-020684-5
• Victorian Things , Penguin Books Ltd, 1990, ISBN 978-0-14-012677-8
• Editor with Helmut Georg Koenigsberger History of Europe , Longman, Routledge 1987
• The History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom, Volume I , Oxford University Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0-19-212926-0
• The Channel Islands, Occupation and Liberation 1940-1945 , Batsford Books, 1995, ISBN 0-7134-7822-5
• A Social History of England , Penguin UK, 1999, ISBN 978-0-14-026954-3
• Marx in London, An Illustrated Guide , Lawrence & Wishart, 2007, ISBN 978-1-905007-60-8
• History of Western Europe: 400-1914 (History of the World) , Blackwell Publishers, 2015, ISBN 978-0-631-21449-6 (planned)

Web links

• Literature by and about Asa Briggs in the catalog of the German National Library
• Asa Briggs at Hansard (English)
• Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs at theyworkforyou
• Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs at The Public Whip
• Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs - Official website of the House of Lords
• The Rt Hon the Lord Briggs, FBA - Biography at Debretts

Individual evidence

1. ^ Asa Briggs, historian and higher education pioneer, dies age 94
2. ↑ The Papers of Asa Briggs entry on Janus website , accessed April 15, 2013
3. ^ Asa Briggs, Foreword by Gwen Watkins, Cracking the Luftwaffe Codes, 2006, Greenhill Books, p. 12, ISBN 978-1-85367-687-1
4. ^ Lemon, Charles (1993). "A Centenary History of The Brontë Society, 1893-1993". Brontë Society Transactions Supplement to Volume 20: p. 105
5. ^ The Macaulay of the Welfare State Entry on the London Review of Books website , accessed April 15, 2013
6. ↑ Lord Asa Briggs ( Memento of the original from May 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Entry on the Keep Calm and Carry On website , accessed April 15, 2013 
7. ↑ House of Lords: Members 'expenses Members' expenses on the House of Lords website , accessed April 6, 2013
8. ↑ Research by two postgraduate students at Sussex will benefit from new awards set up to honor eminent historian Asa Briggs ( Memento of the original from October 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Bulletin on the University of Sussex website dated June 28, 2002 
9. ↑ Happy birthday Asa Briggs entry on the University of Sussex website , accessed April 15, 2013
10. ^ ASA Briggs Secret Days entry on the Pen and Sword Books website , accessed April 15, 2013