Bryan Ranft (14 July 1917 – 14 April 2001) was an historian of the Royal Navy, who served as Professor of History and International Affairs at the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equiv ...

, 1967–1977.

Early life and education

Ranft was educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

. 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he joined the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, rising to the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. Well along in his career, Ranft completed his

D.Phil. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree in history at

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 the ...

in 1967 with a thesis on ''The naval defence of British sea-borne trade, 1860–1905''.

Academic career

Upon leaving the Royal Artillery, Ranft joined the staff of the

and rose to become Professor of History and International Affairs. He was a visiting fellow at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, where he taught naval history to several generations of postgraduate students, and was appointed Visiting Professor in 1982.

Published works

* ''The Vernon Papers'',edited by B. McL. Ranft. Publications of the

Navy Records Society The Navy Records Society was established in 1893 as a scholarly text publication society to publish historical documents relating to the history of the Royal Navy. Professor Sir John Knox Laughton and Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge were the key lea ...

, vol. 99. ondon Printed for the Navy Records Society, 1958. * ''Greenwich: palace, hospital, college'', by

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...

; revised by Bryan Ranft. London: Royal Naval College, 1969. * ''Technical change and British naval policy, 1860–1939'', edited by Bryan Ranft. London : Hodder and Stoughton, 1977. * ''The sea in Soviet strategy'', Bryan Ranft and

Geoffrey Till Geoffrey Till (born in London, England, on 14 January 1945) is a British naval historian and emeritus Professor of Maritime Studies in the Defence Studies Department of King's College London. He is the Director of the Corbett Centre for Marit ...

. London: Macmillan, 1983, 1989. * ''Ironclad to Trident: 100 years of defence commentary: Brassey's 1886–1986'', edited by Bryan Ranft. London: Brassey's, 1986. * ''The Beatty papers: selections from the private and official correspondence of Admiral of the Fleet

Earl Beatty Earl Beatty is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1919 for the prominent naval commander Admiral of the Fleet Sir David Beatty. He was created Baron Beatty, of the North Sea and of Brooksby in the County of Leic ...

'', edited by B. McL. Ranft. Two volumes. Aldershot: Scolar Press for the

, 1989–1993. * ''The Oxford illustrated history of the Royal Navy'', general editor,

J. Richard Hill Rear Admiral John Richard Hill (25 March 1929 – 25 March 2017) was a rear-admiral in the Royal Navy, a former chief executive of the Middle Temple, author, and editor of many books on naval affairs. Early life and education Richard Hill was bor ...

; consultant editor, Bryan Ranft. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1995. * "Beatty, David, first Earl Beatty (1871–1936)’ in the

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

, 2004 * ''The development of British naval thinking: essays in memory of Bryan Ranft'', edited by

. London : Routledge, 2006.

Sources

* Obituary "Professor Bryan Ranft: Historian of the Royal Navy", ''Guardian'', 25 May 2001. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranft, Bryan 1917 births 2001 deaths People educated at Manchester Grammar School Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Academics of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Academics of King's College London English naval historians British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery officers 20th-century English historians