Alexander Danchev (26 August 1955 – 7 August 2016) 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 ...

biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...

, and

army officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an Military, armed force or Uniformed services, uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant off ...

. His work ranged from military history to the lives of artists. His originality stems from a vast erudition put at the service of a cross-understanding of disparate fields such as art and war.

Early life

Danchev was born in Bolton, Lancashire in 1955 to Alfons Danchev, a Belgian-Bulgarian mining engineer, and his wife Anne (née Gilman). He studied history and economics at

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

, where he graduated in 1977. He then attended

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

, where he received a

Postgraduate Certificate in Education The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE/PGCertEd) is a one- or two-year higher education course in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which provides training in order to allow graduates to become teachers within maintained schools. In ...

. In 1978 he began teaching at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. In this capacity, he served as an officer in the Royal Army Education Corps for the next ten years. In addition to his teaching activities, he studied

War Studies War studies, sometimes called polemology, is the multi-disciplinary study of war. It pertains to the military, diplomatic, philosophical, social, political, psychological or economic dimensions of human conflict. The word ''polemology'' deriv ...

at King's College London and received his doctorate there in 1984.

Career

In 1988 he left the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and held a research fellowship at King's College London. He then became a Lecturer in

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

Keele University Keele University, officially known as the University of Keele, is a public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, Keele ...

. He subsequently became a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

and head of department. From 2004 to 2014 he taught at the School of Politics and International Relations at the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

. In 2014 he moved to the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, where he taught as Professor of International Relations until his death. Danchev was a visiting fellow at

Queen Mary, University of London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

and St Antony's College, Oxford. He wrote regularly for the ''

Times Higher Education ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The Thes''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...

'' and ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to '' The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'', the '' London Review of Books'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''.

Personal life

Danchev was married to Dee Cooper since 1998. His wife brought two daughters into the marriage. He died of

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may ...

in August 2016 at the age of 60.

Selected works

* ''Oliver Franks: Founding Father'', (1993, Oxford University Press, Oxford) * ''Alchemist of War: The Life of Basil Liddell Hart'' (1998) * ''War Diaries: Field Marshal Lord Alanbrooke'' (2001) * ''Georges Braque: A Life'' (2005) * ''On Art and War and Terror'' (2009) * ''100 Artists’ Manifestos'' (2011) * ''Cézanne: A life'' (2012) * ''On Good and Evil and the Grey Zone'' (2015) *''Magritte: A Life'' (2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danchev, Alex 20th-century British historians 1955 births 2016 deaths 21st-century British historians Academics of Keele University Academics of the University of Nottingham Academics of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst