Max Beloff, Baron Beloff, (2 July 1913 – 22 March 1999) was a British historian and
Conservative
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 i ...
peer. From 1974 to 1979 he was principal of the University College of Buckingham, now the
University of Buckingham
, mottoeng = Flying on Our Own Wings
, established = 1973; as university college1983; as university
, type = Private
, endowment =
, administrative_staff = 97 academic, 103 support
, chanc ...
.
Early life
Beloff was born on 2 July 1913 at 21 York House, Fieldway Crescent,
Islington
Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
, London and was the oldest child of a Jewish family who had moved to England in 1903 from Russia. He was the elder son in a family of five children of merchant Semion (Simon) Beloff (born Semion Rubinowicz) and his wife Maria (Marie) Katzin. His sister
Anne
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
later married
German-born Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
–winning
biochemist
Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...
Ernst Boris Chain
Sir Ernst Boris Chain (19 June 1906 – 12 August 1979) was a German-born British biochemist best known for being a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on penicillin.
Life and career
Chain was born in Ber ...
in 1948. His sister
Renee Soskin
Renee Rachel Soskin JP (''née'' Beloff; 16 December 1916 – 8 July 1998) was a British teacher, company director and Liberal Party politician.
Background
Soskin was daughter of merchant Semion (Simon) Beloff (born Semion Rubinowicz) and his ...
was a politician and educationalist. His other sister
Nora Beloff
Leah Nora Beloff (24 January 1919 – 12 February 1997) was an English journalist and political writer. She worked for ''The Observer'' for three decades, from 1948 to 1978, and became a political correspondent in 1964, making her the first woma ...
was a journalist and political correspondent. His brother was the psychologist
John Beloff
John Beloff (19 April 1920 – 1 June 2006) was an English psychology professor at Edinburgh University and parapsychologist.
Biography
Beloff was born and brought up in London, and was from a Russian Jewish family. His parents were Semion ...
. His paternal great-grandmother was Leah Horowitz-Winograd, the sister
Eliyahu Shlomo Horowitz-Winograd and a descendant of the Hasidic master,
Shmelke Horowitz of Nikolsburg (1726-1778). The young Beloff was educated at
St Paul's School, and then studied
Modern History
The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...
at
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th ...
where he graduated with
first-class honours
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...
. (Scholar; MA; Honorary Fellow, 1993).
Politics
In his 1992 autobiographical work ''A Historian in the Twentieth Century'' Beloff discusses his political journey. He had been at school a conservative, was then attracted to socialism once at university and became a liberal after the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. In 1962, during public debate of the case for a referendum on whether to join the
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
, he argued that a referendum is not meaningful unless clear alternatives are set before the electorate; in the absence of such clarity, "the electorate would... be doing no more than indicating a very general bias one way or another" ('"The Case against a Referendumˮ", ''The Observer'', 21 October 1962, p. 11).
In the debate about educational standards in the 1960s, he found the
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
government hostile to his idea of a university outside the state-financed framework and felt the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
was "moving increasingly to the
left
Left may refer to:
Music
* ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006
* ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016
* "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996
Direction
* Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right
* L ...
". That inclined him to join the Conservative Party upon his retirement in 1979.
He received a
knighthood
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
in 1980, and on 26 May 1981 he was created a
life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
, taking the title Baron Beloff, ''of
Wolvercote
Wolvercote is a village that is part of the City of Oxford, England. It is about northwest of the city centre, on the northern edge of Wolvercote Common, which is itself north of Port Meadow and adjoins the River Thames.
History
The Domesday B ...
in the
County of Oxfordshire''. He spoke often on educational and constitutional matters in the House of Lords and, outside of the chamber, continued to write. He was a strong
Eurosceptic and argued that Britain's history made it incompatible with membership of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, which led to him writing ''Britain and European Union: Dialogue of the Deaf'', published in 1996.
In 1990 Lord Beloff was one of the leading historians behind the setting up of the History Curriculum Association. The Association advocated a more knowledge-based history curriculum in schools. It expressed "profound disquiet" at the way history was being taught in the classroom and observed that the integrity of history was threatened. In a House of Lords debate on 21 July 1989 he supported the two Lewes teachers, Chris McGovern and Dr Anthony Freeman who suffered redeployment following their criticism of the academic quality of the what was then the new GCSE examination.
He was a strong opponent of New Labour's
House of Lords Bill and gave many speeches in the chamber defending the hereditary principle; however, he died before the bill was passed. He gave his final speech in the House of Lords on 22 March 1999, the day he died.
Career
* Junior Research Fellow, Corpus Christi College, 1937
* Assistant Lecturer in History,
Manchester University
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
, 1939–46
**
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
service:
Royal Corps of Signals
The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...
, 1940–41.
* Nuffield Reader in Comparative Study of Institutions,
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, 1946–56
In 1954, he delivered the
Albert Shaw Lectures on Diplomatic History
The Albert Shaw Lectures on Diplomatic History are annual lectures delivered at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. The lectures were named after the benefactor, Albert Shaw of New York City who had received his Ph.D from Johns Hopki ...
at Johns Hopkins University for that year, with the lectures later published as ''Foreign Policy and the Democratic Process''.
* Fellow of
Nuffield College, Oxford
Nuffield College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college and specialises in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. Nuffield is one of Oxford's newer co ...
, 1947–57
*
Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
Professor of Government and Public Administration, Oxford University, 1957–74, then
Professor Emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
* Fellow,
All Souls College, Oxford
All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...
, 1957–74, Emeritus Fellow, 1980–99
* Supernumerary Fellow,
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, economic ...
, 1975–84
* Principal, University College of Buckingham, 1974–79
* Honorary Professor,
St Andrews University
(Aien aristeuein)
, motto_lang = grc
, mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best
, established =
, type = Public research university
Ancient university
, endowment ...
, 1993–98.
He became governor of the
University of Haifa
The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...
, and was knighted in 1980 and elevated to a life peerage with the title Baron Beloff, ''of
Wolvercote
Wolvercote is a village that is part of the City of Oxford, England. It is about northwest of the city centre, on the northern edge of Wolvercote Common, which is itself north of Port Meadow and adjoins the River Thames.
History
The Domesday B ...
in the County of
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
'' on 26 May 1981. After his death the University of Buckingham established 'The Max Beloff Centre for the Study of Liberty' in January 2005.
Works
*''Public order and popular disturbances 1660–1714'' (1938).
*''The Foreign Policy of Soviet Russia 1929–41'' (2 volumes) (1947/1949).
*''Thomas Jefferson and American Democracy'' (1948).
*''Soviet Policy in the Far East, 1944–51'' (1953).
*''The Age of Absolutism, 1660–1815'' (1954).
*''Foreign Policy and the Democratic Press'' (1955).
*''Europe and the Europeans'' (1957).
*''The Great Powers'' (1959).
*''New Dimensions in Foreign Policy'' (1961).
*''The United States and the Unity of Europe'' (1963).
*''The Balance of Power'' (1968).
*''Imperial Sunset-Volume 1: Britain's Liberal Empire 1897–1921'' (1969).
*''The American Federal Government'' (1969).
*''The Future of British Foreign Policy'' (1969).
*''The Intellectual in Politics'' (1970).
*''The Tide of Collectivism- Can it be Turned?'' (1978).
*''The State and its servants'' (1979).
*''The Government of the United Kingdom'' (with Gillian Peele) (1980).
*''Wars and Welfare: Britain, 1941–1945'' (1984).
*''Imperial Sunset-Volume 2: Dream of Commonwealth 1921–42'' (1989).
*''An Historian in the Twentieth Century'' (1992).
*''Britain and European Union: Dialogue of the Deaf'' (1996).
Works edited by Beloff include:
*''History: Mankind and his story'' (1948).
*''The Federalist'' (1948).
*''The Debate on the American Revolution, 1761–1783'' (1949).
*''Europe and the Europeans: an International Discussion'' (1957).
*''On the track of tyranny: essays presented by the Wiener Library to Leonard G. Montefiore'' (1960).
*''American Political Institutions in the 1970s'' (with Vivian Vale) (1975).
*''Beyond the Soviet Union: the fragmentation of power'' (1997).
References
Sources
* Hutchinson's Encyclopaedia of Britain
*
Who was Who
''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...
* ''
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 ...
'', 24 March 1999, p23
*Cameron-Watt, D. (2004) 'Max Beloff', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''.
*Crick, B. (1999) 'Loose and loud cannon', ''The Guardian'', 25 March.
*Johnson, N. (1999) 'Obituary: Max Beloff’, ''The Independent'', 26 March.
*Johnson, N. (2003) ‘Max Beloff, 1913–1999’, ''Proceedings of the British Academy'': Vol. 120, pp21–40.
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beloff, Max
1913 births
1999 deaths
20th-century English historians
Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Max
British Army personnel of World War II
British Jews
British people of Russian-Jewish descent
Beloff, Max Beloff, Baron
Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford
Fellows of the British Academy
Fellows of Nuffield College, Oxford
Fellows of the Royal Historical Society
Gladstone Professors of Government
Jewish British politicians
Jewish historians
Knights Bachelor
People associated with the University of Buckingham
People educated at St Paul's School, London
Royal Corps of Signals officers