Anthony Hamilton Millard Kirk-Greene CMG MBE (16 May 1925 – 8 July 2018) was a British

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

and

ethnographer Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

best known for his works on

Nigerian history The history of Nigeria can be traced to the earliest inhabitants whose remains date from at least 13,000 BC through early civilizations such as the Nok culture which began around 1500 BC. Numerous ancient African civilizations settled in the regi ...

and the history of British colonial administration in Africa. After a career as a colonial official, Kirk-Greene became a fellow of

St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economi ...

, where he was lecturer in the modern history of Africa from 1967 to 1992. He was president of the African Studies Association of the UK from 1988 to 1990 and vice-president of the

Royal African Society The Royal African Society (RAS) of the United Kingdom was founded in 1901 to promote relations between the United Kingdom and countries in Africa. The RAS is a not-for-profit membership organisation based in London. In addition to producing its jour ...

Biography

Anthony Kirk-Greene was born in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. T ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

on 16 May 1925. He served as a captain in the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

from 1943 to 1947 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He later graduated from

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1950 and in 1954 with Bachelor and Masters of Arts degrees. He also obtained a Master of Arts from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

in 1967. Kirk-Greene joined the

Colonial Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

, serving as an administrator in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and eventually rising to the rank of Senior District Commissioner. During this time, he became interested in ethnography and Hausa culture and

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

. After Nigerian independence, he was a senior lecturer at

Ahmadu Bello University Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a federal government research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. ABU was founded on 4 October 1962, as the pioneer university in Northern Nigeria. It was founded and named after the Sardauna of Sokoto, A ...

Zaria Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna State, Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau, Zazzau Emirate ...

Kaduna State Kaduna State ( ha, Jihar Kaduna جىِهَر كَدُنا; ff, Leydi Kaduna, script=Latn, ; kcg, Sitet Kaduna) is a state in northern Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna which happened to be the 8th largest city in ...

from 1961 to 1965. From 1967 to 1981 he was professor of history at

. He was adjunct professor from 1992 to 1999 at the Stanford Program at Oxford. He wrote a number of well-received works on Nigerian history and the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence ...

as well as the

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

of post-independence Africa more generally. He also wrote a number of important studies on the history of the Colonial Service. He was president of the African Studies Association of the United Kingdom (ASAUK) from 1998 to 1990 and was awarded ASAUK's "Distinguished Africanist" award in 2005. He died in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

on 8 July 2018 at the age of 93.Mr Anthony Kirk-Greene (1925–2018)
/ref>

Selected works

* ''This is Northern Nigeria : background to an invitation''. (1956) * ''The capitals of Northern Nigeria''. (1957) * ''Adamawa, past and present; an historical approach to the development of a northern Cameroons province''. (1958) * ''Maiduguri and the capitals of Bornu. Maiduguri da manyan biranen Barno''. (1958) * ''The principles of native administration in Nigeria; selected documents, 1900-1947''. (1965) * ''Hausa ba dabo ba ne; a collection of 500 proverbs''. (1966) * ''A modern Hausa reader. With Yahaya Aliyu''. (1967) * ''West African travels and adventures; two autobiographical narratives from Northern Nigeria''. (1971) * ''Crisis and conflict in Nigeria: a documentary sourcebook''. (1971) * ''The genesis of the Nigerian civil war and the theory of fear''. (1975) * ''A biographical dictionary of the British colonial governor''. (1980) * ''"Stay by your radios" : documentation for a study of military government in tropical Africa''. (1981) * ''Nigeria since 1970 : a political and economic outline''. (1981) * ''A biographical dictionary of the British Colonial Service, 1939-1966''. (1991) * ''On crown service : a history of HM colonial and overseas civil services, 1837-1997''. (1999) * ''Britain's imperial administrators, 1858-1966''. (2000) * ''Symbol of authority : the British district officer in Africa''. (2006) * ''Glimpses of empire : a Corona anthology''. (2012) * ''Aspects of empire : a second Corona anthology''. (2012)

References

External links

Anthony Kirk-Greene Memorial
at the African Studies Centre (

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

) 1925 births 2018 deaths Ahmadu Bello University faculty Ahmadu Bello University people Alumni of the University of Cambridge Alumni of the University of Oxford Historians of Nigeria People from Royal Tunbridge Wells British Indian Army officers Colonial Service officers Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George English Africanists Fellows of St Antony's College, Oxford Presidents of the African Studies Association of the United Kingdom {{UK-academic-bio-stub