Sir Christopher Alan Bayly,
FBA,
FRSL
The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, elec ...
(18 May 1945 – 18 April 2015) was a British historian specialising in
British Imperial,
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
and
global history
World history may refer to:
* Human history, the history of human beings
* History of Earth, the history of planet Earth
* World history (field), a field of historical study that takes a global perspective
* ''World History'' (album), a 1998 albu ...
. From 1992 to 2013, he was
Vere Harmsworth Professor of Imperial and Naval History at the
University of Cambridge
, 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 ...
.
Early life
Bayly was from
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 ...
,
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 ...
, where he attended
The Skinners School. He studied 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 ...
and graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
(BA) degree. He then remained at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
and undertook
post-graduate study at
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 ...
.
He completed his
Doctor of Philosophy
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 ...
(DPhil) degree in 1970 with a
thesis
A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144 ...
titled ''The development of political organisation in the Allahabad locality, 1880–1925''
under
John Andrew Gallagher.
Academic career
Bayly was the
Vere Harmsworth Professor of Imperial and Naval History at the
University of Cambridge
, 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 ...
from 1992 to 2013. He was also a trustee of the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
.
[
In 2007, he succeeded ]Sir John Baker John Baker or Jon Baker may refer to:
Military figures
* John Baker (American Revolutionary War) (1731–1787), American Revolutionary War hero, for whom Baker County, Georgia was named
*John Baker (RAF officer) (1897–1978), British air marshal ...
as President
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*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
of St Catharine's College, Cambridge
St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Cam ...
. Bayly also became the Director of Cambridge's Centre of South Asian Studies. He was co-editor of ''The New Cambridge History of India
''The New Cambridge History of India'' is a major multi-volume work of historical scholarship published by Cambridge University Press. It replaced '' The Cambridge History of India'' published between 1922 and 1937.
The new history is being publi ...
'' and sat on the editorial board of various academic journals. He also served on the inaugural Social Sciences jury for the Infosys Prize
The Infosys Prize is an annual award given to scientists, researchers, engineers and social scientists of Indian origin (not necessarily born in India) by the Infosys Science Foundation and ranks among the highest monetary awards in India to r ...
in 2009.
Death
Bayly died in Hyde Park, Chicago
Hyde Park is the 41st of the 77 community areas of Chicago. It is located on the South Side, near the shore of Lake Michigan south of the Loop.
Hyde Park's official boundaries are 51st Street/Hyde Park Boulevard on the north, the Midway Pl ...
, on 18 April 2015, a month before his 70th birthday. He was in his second and last year as the Vivekananda Visiting Professor when he died.
Honours
In 1990, Bayly was elected a Fellow of the British Academy
Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are:
# Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom
# ...
(FBA). In 2004 he was awarded the Wolfson History Oeuvre Prize for his many contributions to the discipline. In the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dynastic ...
, it was announced that he had been appointed a Knight Bachelor
The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are ...
'for services to History'. Upon being informed of the knighthood, he stated: "I regard this not only as a great personal honour but, as an historian of India, as recognition of the growing importance of the history of the non-western world."
In 2016, Bayly became the first person to be posthumously awarded the Toynbee Prize for global history.
Selected bibliography
*''The Local Roots of Indian Politics: Allahabad, 1880–1920'' (1975)
*''Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion, 1770–1870'' (1983)
*''Indian Society and the Making of the British Empire'' (1988)
*''Imperial Meridian: The British Empire and the World, 1780–1830'' (1989)
*''Empire and Information: Intelligence Gathering and Social Communication in India, 1780–1870'' (1996)
*''Origins of Nationality in South Asia: Patriotism and Ethical Government in the Making of Modern India'' (1997)
*''The Birth of the Modern World: Global Connections and Comparisons, 1780–1914'' (2004)
*
*
*
*''Remaking the Modern World, 1900-2015: Global Connections and Comparisons'' (2018)
References
External links
Interviewed by Alan Macfarlane 24 July 2014 (video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayly, Christopher Alan
1945 births
2015 deaths
People from Royal Tunbridge Wells
Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford
Alumni of St Antony's College, Oxford
Fellows of St Catharine's College, Cambridge
Fellows of the British Academy
Fellows of the Royal Historical Society
Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature
Historians of South Asia
Knights Bachelor
People educated at The Skinners' School
Trustees of the British Museum
Historians of India
Institute directors
20th-century British writers
20th-century British historians
21st-century British writers
21st-century British historians
20th-century British male writers
Vere Harmsworth Professors of Imperial and Naval History
World historians