Charles Richard Morris, Baron Morris of Grasmere, (25 January 1898 – 30 May 1990) was an academic philosopher and Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. Morris was born in

Sutton Valence Sutton Valence (in the past also called Sudtone, Town Sutton and Sutton Hastings, see below) is a village about five miles (8 km) SE of Maidstone, Kent, England on the A274 road going south to Headcorn and Tenterden. It is on the Greensand ...

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 ...

, and educated at

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

and

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

. From 1921 to 1943 he was fellow and tutor in philosophy at

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 ...

. However, from 1939 during the

Second World War 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 worked as a civil servant. He was appointed headmaster of

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by Edward VI of England, King Edward VI in 1552, it ...

, in 1941, taking up the post in 1943. He then became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds from 1948 to 1963.

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 ...

accessed 25 July 2009 In 1966 the University opened the Charles Morris Hall of Residence named after him. In 1955 he opened Netherhall School, Maryport, in

Maryport, Cumbria Maryport is a town and civil parish in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England, historically in Cumberland. The town is situated just outside the Lake District National Park, at the northern end of the former Cumberland Coalfield. Location ...

. Morris served as the chairman of both the Council for Training in Social Work and the Council for the Training of Health Visitors.Hansard, House of Lords, Vol. 310, Col. 735, 11 May 1970. In 1967 he became a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as "Baron Morris of Grasmere, of Grasmere in the County of

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

".London Gazette
17 January 1967 He died at Grasmere in 1990 aged 92.

Family life

Morris's wife, Mary, was the daughter of

Ernest de Sélincourt Ernest de Sélincourt (1870–1943) was a British literary scholar and critic, the eldest son of Charles Alexandre De Sélincourt and Theodora Bruce Bendall. He is best known as an editor of William Wordsworth and Dorothy Wordsworth. He was a ...

: they had a son and a daughter, and wrote a book together, ''A History of Political Ideas''.

References

Morris of Grasmere, Charles Morris, Baron Morris of Grasmere, Charles Morris, Baron Morris of Grasmere, Charles Marris, Baron Life peers created by Elizabeth II Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Vice-Chancellors of the University of Leeds Chief Masters of King Edward's School, Birmingham Morris of Grasmere, Charles Marris, Baron Fellows of Balliol College, Oxford People educated at Tonbridge School 20th-century British philosophers People from Grasmere (village) People from Sutton Valence {{Life-peer-stub