David N. Dilks,

FRHistS The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

, FRSL (born 17 March 1938) is a British historian and former professor of International History at 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 , ...

Early life and education

Dilks was born in

Foleshill Foleshill is a suburb in the north of Coventry in the West Midlands of England. Longford, Courthouse Green and Rowley Green are to its north and Keresley is to its west. The population of the Ward at the 2011 census was 19,943. History Fole ...

, a suburb of

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

, and attended The Royal Grammar School Worcester before winning a scholarship to

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The col ...

, to read history.

Academic career

Dilks remained in Oxford to do research at

St Antony's College St Antony's College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford, 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 ...

before becoming research assistant to Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan. He was the official biographer of the latter as well as producing a two-volume biography of the viceroy of India,

George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman ...

, and an incomplete biography of Neville Chamberlain. Dilks was Professor of International History at the University of Leeds from 1970 to 1991. In 1977 he became a Visiting Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. Professor Dilks became

Vice Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

of the

University of Hull , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...

in 1991, serving until 1999.

Selected works

*''Sir Winston Churchill''. Hamish Hamilton, 1965. (from the "Men and Movements" series) *''Curzon in India''. Rupert Hart-Davis, 1969-70. (2 vols.) *''The Diaries of Sir Alexander Cadogan, 1938-1945''. Cassell, 1971. (editor) *''The

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

: A History from their Origins to 1965''. George Allen & Unwin, 1977. (contributor; editor

Rab Butler Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, (9 December 1902 – 8 March 1982), also known as R. A. Butler and familiarly known from his initials as Rab, was a prominent British Conservative Party politician. ''The Times'' obituary c ...

) *''Retreat from Power: Studies in Britain's Foreign Policy of the Twentieth Century''. Macmillan, 1981. (2 vols.) *''Neville Chamberlain: Volume 1, 1869-1929''. Cambridge University Press, 1984. *''The Missing Dimension: Governments and Intelligence Communities in the Twentieth Century''. Macmillan, 1984. (co-editor with Christopher Andrew) *''The Office of Prime Minister in Twentieth-Century Britain''. University of Hull Press, 1993. *''Barbarossa: The Axis and the Allies''. Edinburgh University Press, 1994. (co-editor with

John Erickson John Erickson may refer to: * John E. Erickson (Montana politician) (1863–1946), American politician from Montana * John E. Erickson (basketball) (1927–2020), American basketball coach and executive, Wisconsin politician * John P. Erickson ...

) *''Communications, the Commonwealth and the Future''. University of Hull Press, 1994. *''The Conference at Potsdam, 1945''. University of Hull Press, 1995. *''Epic and Tragedy: Britain and Poland, 1941-1945''. University of Hull Press, 1995. *''Rights, Wrongs and Rivalries: Britain and France in 1945''. University of Hull Press, 1996. *''

de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...

and the British''. University of Hull Press, 1996. *''Great Britain, the Commonwealth and the Wider World, 1939-45''. University of Hull Press, 1998. *''Collective Security, 1919 and Now''. University of Hull Press, 1999. *''The Great Dominion: Winston Churchill in Canada 1900-1954''. Thomas Allen & Son, 2005. *''Churchill and Company: Allies and Rivals in War and Peace''. I.B. Tauris, 2012.

References

1938 births Living people Writers from Worcester, England People educated at the Royal Grammar School Worcester Academics of the University of Leeds Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford Alumni of St Antony's College, Oxford People associated with the University of Hull Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Fellows of the Royal Historical Society {{UK-historian-stub