Sir James Wycliffe Headlam-Morley, CBE (24 December 1863 – 6 September 1929) was a British academic historian and classicist, who became a civil servant and government advisor on current foreign policy. He was known as James Wycliffe Headlam until 1918, when he changed his surname to Headlam-Morley by royal licence. He was knighted in 1929 for public service.

Family

He was the second son of Arthur William Headlam (1826–1908), vicar of

Whorlton, County Durham Whorlton is a small village in County Durham, in England. It is situated near the River Tees and to the east of Barnard Castle. Whorlton Bridge is a 183 ft long suspension bridge which crosses the River Tees. It is Britain's 2nd oldest susp ...

, and was the younger brother of

Arthur Cayley Headlam Arthur Cayley Headlam (2 August 1862 – 17 January 1947) was an English theologian who served as Bishop of Gloucester from 1923 to 1945. Biography Headlam was born in Whorlton, County Durham, the son of its vicar, Arthur William Headlam (18 ...

(1862–1947),

Bishop of Gloucester The Bishop of Gloucester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Gloucester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the County of Gloucestershire and part of the County of Worcestershire. The see's centre of governan ...

. In 1893 he married Elisabeth Charlotta Henrietta Ernestina Sonntag (1866–1950), a German musician and composer, also known as Else Headlam-Morley. The historian Agnes Headlam-Morley (1902–1986) was their daughter.

Education and career

He was educated at Eton,

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

, and in Germany where he studied with Treitschke and

Hans Delbrück Hans Gottlieb Leopold Delbrück (; 11 November 1848 – 14 July 1929) was a German historian. Delbrück was one of the first modern military historians, basing his method of research on the critical examination of ancient sources, using auxiliary ...

. From 1894–1900 he was Professor of Greek and Ancient History at

Queen's College, London Queen's College is an independent school for girls aged 11–18 with an adjoining prep school for girls aged 4–11 located in the City of Westminster, London. Founded in 1848 by theologian and social reformer Frederick Denison Maurice along w ...

. An influential figure, he worked on propaganda in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, and, when the war was over, he was involved in the drafting of the

Versailles Treaty The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 19 ...

especially regarding Danzig. He effectively sponsored

Arnold J. Toynbee Arnold Joseph Toynbee (; 14 April 1889 – 22 October 1975) was an English historian, a philosopher of history, an author of numerous books and a research professor of international history at the London School of Economics and King's Colleg ...

for appointment in 1924 to

Chatham House Chatham House, also known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is an independent policy institute headquartered in London. Its stated mission is to provide commentary on world events and offer solutions to global challenges. It is ...

. He also gathered materials on the diplomatic history of the origins of World War I, as an official production of the British government, and contributed to it, though the main editor was

Harold Temperley Harold William Vazeille Temperley, (20 April 1879 – 11 July 1939) was an English historian, Professor of Modern History at the University of Cambridge from 1931, and Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge. Overview Temperley was born in Cambridg ...

. Historian Anna Cienciala attributes to Headlam and

Sidney Edward Mezes Sidney Edward Mezes (September 23, 1863 – September 10, 1931) was an American philosopher. Biography He was born in what is now the town of Belmont, California on September 23, 1863, to a Spanish-born father and Italian-born mother. He gradua ...

, an academic and advisor to

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

and Executive Director of the Inquiry group, the 1919 proposal to make Danzig a

free city Free city may refer to: Historical places * Free city (antiquity) a self-governed city during the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial eras * Free imperial city, self-governed city in the Holy Roman Empire subordinate only to the emperor ** Free City of ...

.THE REBIRTH OF POLAND
at www.conflicts.rem33.com He wrote numerous historical articles for the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' editions of 1902 in 1911, signing them "J.W.He."

Works

* ''On Election by Lot at Athens'' (1891) * ''Bismarck and the Foundation of the German Empire'' (1899) (availabl
online
* ''A Short History of Germany and Her Colonies'' (1914) with

Walter Alison Phillips Walter Alison Phillips (21 October 1864 – 28 October 1950) was an English historian, a specialist in the history of Europe in the 19th century. From 1914 to 1939 he was the first holder of the Lecky chair of History in Trinity College, Dubl ...

, Arthur William Holland * ''The history of twelve days, July 24 to August 4, 1914'' (1915) * ''The Dead Lands of Europe'' (1917) * ''The German Chancellor and the Outbreak of War'' (1917) * ''The Issue'' (1917) * ''The Peace Terms of the Allies'' (1917) * ''The Starvation of Germany'' (1917) * ''British Documents on the Origins of the War 1898–1914 Volume XI The Outbreak of War Foreign Documents June 28 – August 4, 1914'' (1926) editor * ''Studies in Diplomatic History'' (1930) * ''A Memoir of the Paris Peace Conference 1919'' (1972) edited by Agnes Headlam-Morley, Russell Bryant and Anna Cienciala

References

External links

* * *
The Papers of Sir James Headlam-Morley
held at

Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers of ...

From lecture notes of Anna M. Cienciala

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

, referring several times to Headlam in relation to post-World War I views of Europe
Online article
on the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, mentioning Headlam's views in the 1920s {{DEFAULTSORT:Headlam, James Wycliffe 1863 births 1929 deaths British historians Alumni of King's College, Cambridge People from County Durham Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor People educated at Eton College Fellows of King's College, Cambridge