Frank Thistlethwaite

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(24 July 1915 – 17 February 2003) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

academic who served as the first

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 East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

Early life

Thistlethwaite was born on 24 July 1915 at 11 Powell Street,

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, the elder son of Lee Thistlethwaite (1885–1973), cotton cloth merchant and manufacturer, and his wife Florence Nightingale née Thornber (1892–1983), youngest child of Sharp Thornber (1858–1933), cotton manufacturer, alderman and J.P., and Florence Nightingale (m. 1883; 1859–1917). He was initially educated at

Burnley Grammar School Burnley Grammar School was latterly, a state-funded selective boys grammar School, situated in Byron Street in Burnley, England. However, during its long history, it moved between a number of sites in the town. History In 1552, on the order of ...

, before attending

Bootham School Bootham School is an independent Quaker boarding school, on Bootham in the city of York in England. It accepts boys and girls ages 3–19, and had an enrolment of 605 pupils in 2016. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The schoo ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, and then St John's College, Cambridge (MA), and at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

.The Guardian – Obituaries
Accessed 2010

Career

Thistlethwaite served in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

1941–45, during which time he was seconded to work for the

War Cabinet A war cabinet is a committee formed by a government in a time of war to efficiently and effectively conduct that war. It is usually a subset of the full executive cabinet of ministers, although it is quite common for a war cabinet to have senio ...

1942–45. A fellow of St John's College, Cambridge, Thistlethwaite served as a lecturer in the Faculty of Economics and Politics at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

from 1949 to 1961. He was founding chairman of the British Association for American Studies (1955–59). He became the first

of the

in 1961 and remained the post until 1980. He was appointed a

in 1979.

Publications

*The Great Experiment: An Introduction to the History of the American People (1955) *The Anglo-American Connection in the Early Nineteenth Century (1958) *Dorset Pilgrims: The Story of West Country Puritans who went to New England in the 17th Century (1989) *A Lancashire Family Inheritance (1996) *Our War 1938–45 (1997)

References

External links

Frank Thistlethwaite Archive, University of East Anglia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thistlethwaite, Frank 1915 births People educated at Burnley Grammar School People educated at Bootham School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge University of Minnesota alumni Academics of the University of Cambridge Vice-Chancellors of the University of East Anglia Academics of the University of East Anglia Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Royal Air Force personnel of World War II 2003 deaths People from Burnley