Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher H.A.L. Fisher: ''A History of Europe, Volume II: From the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century to 1935'', Glasgow: Fontana/Collins, 1984, p. i. (21 March 1865 – 18 April 1940) was an English historian, educator, and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician. He served as

President of the Board of Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. ...

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

's 1916 to 1922 coalition government.

Background and education

Fisher was born in London,Herbert Fisher
/ref> the eldest son of Herbert William Fisher (1826–1903), author of ''Considerations on the Origin of the American War'' and his wife Mary Louisa Jackson (1841–1916). His sister Adeline Maria Fisher was the first wife of the composer

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

, another sister

Florence Henrietta Fisher Florence Henrietta Darwin, Lady Darwin (''née'' Fisher, previously Maitland; 31 January 18645 March 1920), was an English playwright. Early life Florence Henrietta Fisher was born in Kensington, London, to Herbert William Fisher and his wife M ...

married both

Frederic William Maitland Frederic William Maitland (28 May 1850 – ) was an English historian and lawyer who is regarded as the modern father of English legal history. Early life and education, 1850–72 Frederic William Maitland was born at 53 Guilford Street, Lon ...

and

Francis Darwin Sir Francis "Frank" Darwin (16 August 1848 – 19 September 1925) was a British botanist. He was the third son of the naturalist and scientist Charles Darwin. Biography Francis Darwin was born in Down House, Downe, Kent in 1848. He was the ...

. His sister Cordelia Fisher married the author, critic and journalist Richard Curle and was the mother of the academic

Adam Curle Charles Thomas William Curle (4 July 1916 – 28 September 2006), better known as Adam Curle, was a British academic, known for his work in social psychology, pedagogy, development studies and peace studies. After holding posts at the University ...

. Fisher was a first cousin of

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...

and her sister Vanessa Bell (the children of his mother's sister Julia). He was educated at

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, where he graduated with a first class degree in 1888 and was awarded a fellowship.

Career

Fisher was a tutor in modern history 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 ...

. His publications include ''Bonapartism'' (1908), ''The Republican Tradition in Europe'' (1911) and ''Napoleon'' (1913). In September 1912, he was appointed (with

Lord Islington John Poynder Dickson-Poynder, 1st Baron Islington, (31 October 1866 – 6 December 1936), born John Poynder Dickson and known as Sir John Poynder Dickson-Poynder from 1884 to 1910, was a British politician. He was Governor of New Zealand between ...

, Lord Ronaldshay, Justice Abdur Rahim, and others) as a member of the

Royal Commission on the Public Services in India The Royal Commission on Public Services in India, also known as the Islington Commission was carried out under the Chairmanship of Lord Islington. It made the following recommendations in its report submitted in 1917:1. Recruitment to the superi ...

of 1912–1915. Between 1913 and 1917 he was

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 of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

of the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

.Helen Mathers: ''Steel City Scholars: The Centenary History of the University of Sheffield'', London: James & James, 2005 In December 1916 Fisher was elected Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam and joined the government of

. He was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

the same month. In this post he was instrumental in the formulation of the

Education Act 1918 The Education Act 1918 (8 & 9 Geo. V c. 39), often known as the Fisher Act, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was drawn up by H. A. L. Fisher. Herbert Lewis, Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education, also played a ke ...

, which made school attendance compulsory for children up to the age of 14. Fisher was also responsible for the School Teachers (Superannuation) Act 1918, which provided pension provision for all teachers. In 1918 he became MP for the Combined English Universities. Fisher resigned his seat in parliament through appointment as

Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds Appointment to the position of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds is a procedural device to allow Members of Parliament to resignation from the British House of Commons, resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. S ...

on 15 February 1926, retiring from politics to take up the post of warden of

, which he held until his death. There he published a three-volume ''History of Europe'' () in 1935. He served on the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

, 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 ...

, the

Rhodes Trust Rhodes House is a building part of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on South Parks Road in central Oxford, and was built in memory of Cecil Rhodes, an alumnus of the university and a major benefactor. It is listed Grade II* on ...

ees, the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

, the Governing Body of Winchester, the

London Library The London Library is an independent lending library in London, established in 1841. It was founded on the initiative of Thomas Carlyle, who was dissatisfied with some of the policies at the British Museum Library. It is located at 14 St James's ...

and the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

. He was awarded the 1927 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his biography ''James Bryce, Viscount Bryce of Dechmont, O.M.'' and received the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...

in 1937. In 1939 he was appointed first Chairman of the Appellate Tribunal for Conscientious Objectors in England and Wales. Fisher died in

St Thomas's Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...

, London, on 18 April 1940 after having been knocked down by a lorry and seriously injured the previous week,"Obituaries." Times ondon, England19 April 1940: 9. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' Digital Archive. Web. 29 May 2012 while on his way to sit on a

Conscientious Objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

s' Tribunal during the blackout. Some of his possessions, including his library and some of his clothing, remained at New College. In 1943, Operation Mincemeat, a British Intelligence operation to deceive enemy forces, undertook the invention of a false

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

officer, whose body was to be dropped at sea in the hope the false intelligence it carried would be believed. As the fictitious Major Martin was to be a man of some means, he required quality underwear, but with rationing this was difficult to obtain, and the intelligence officers were unwilling to donate their own. Fisher's was obtained, and the corpse used in the deception, dressed in Fisher's quality woollen underpants, succeeded in misleading German Intelligence.''Operation Mincemeat'',

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

, 22 February 2011

Family

Fisher married the economist and historian Lettice Ilbert (1875–1956) in 1899. Their only child was the British academic Mary Bennett.

Portraits

A portrait drawing of Fisher by

Catharine Dodgson Frances Catharine Dodgson, née Spooner, (15 December 1883 – 30 April 1954) was a British artist, known for her skill as a portraitist. Biography Dodgson was born in Oxford. Her parents were Frances Wycliffe, who was the daughter of a bis ...

and an oil portrait by William Nicholson (artist) hang at

. The college also possess a conversation piece by

Berthe Noufflard Saint Bertha or Saint Aldeberge (c. 565 – d. in or after 601) was the queen of Kent whose influence led to the Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England. She was canonized as a saint for her role in its establishment during that period of Eng ...

of Fisher, Lettice Ilbert, and Mary Bennett.

Works

''The Medieval Empire,''Vol. 2
Macmillan & Co., 1898.
''Studies in Napoleonic Statesmanship: Germany,''
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903.
''The History of England, from the Accession of Henry VII to the Death of Henry VIII, 1485–1547,''
Longmans, Green & Co., 1906.
''Bonapartism; Six Lectures Delivered in the University of London,''
Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1908.
''The Republican Tradition in Europe,''
Methuen & Co., 1911.
''Napoleon,''
H. Holt and Company, 1913 st Pub. 1912
''Studies in History and Politics,''
Oxford : The Clarendon Press, 1920.
''The Common Weal,''
Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1924.
Bryce''
2 vols. London: Macmillan, 1927.
''Our New Religion''
Ernest Benn, 1929. An examination of

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally know ...

.This particular copy from the

Wellcome Library The Wellcome Library is founded on the collection formed by Sir Henry Wellcome (1853–1936), whose personal wealth allowed him to create one of the most ambitious collections of the 20th century. Henry Wellcome's interest was the history of med ...

belonged to

Charles Kellaway Charles Halliley Kellaway, (16 January 1889 – 13 December 1952) was an Australian medical researcher and science administrator. Biography Early years and education Charles Kellaway was born at the parsonage attached to St James's Old Cathe ...

, complete with a Sydney bookseller's stamp.
''A History of Europe''
3 vols. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1935.

Articles

''"Fustel de Coulanges,"''
The English Historical Review, Vol. V, 1890.
"The Codes"
in ''The Cambridge Modern History'', vol. ix, Cambridge: University Press, 1906.
''"The Political Writings of Rousseau,"''
The Edinburgh Review, Vol. CCXXIV, N°. 457, July 1916. * "The Whig Historians", in ''Proceedings of the British Academy'', n. 14, 1928. *
"A Universal Historian"
in ''The Nineteenth Century and After'', vol. 116, no. 694, December, London: Constable, 1934.

Pamphlets

''The Value of Small States,''
Oxford Pamphlets, N°. 17, Oxford University Press, 1914.
''The British Share in the War,''
T. Nelson & Sons, 1915.
''Political Prophecies. An Address to the Edinburg Philosophical Society Delivered Nov. 5, 1918,''
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1919. * ''The Place of the University in National Life,'' Oxford University Press, 1919. * ''Paul Valéry,'' Oxford, The Clarendon Press, 1927. * ''What to Read on Citizenship,'' Leeds, Jowett & Sowry Ltd., 1928.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Herbert Albert 1865 births 1940 deaths 19th-century English historians 20th-century English historians British Secretaries of State British Secretaries of State for Education Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Winchester College Alumni of New College, Oxford Members of the Order of Merit Academics of the University of Sheffield Wardens of New College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society (Statute 12) Road incident deaths in London Academics from London Politics of Sheffield UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 Presidents of the British Academy James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the Combined English Universities Fellows of the British Academy National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) politicians