Michael George Brock (9 March 1920 – 30 April 2014) was a British historian who was associated with several

Oxford 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 ...

colleges during his academic career. He was

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...

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 c ...

, from 1978 to 1988.

Youth and education

Michael Brock was born in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...

, Kent, England. His parents were Sir

Laurence Brock Sir Laurence George Brock CB (7 May 1879 – 29 April 1949) was a British civil servant. He was chairman of the Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency from 1928 to 1945. Brock was born in Islington, London to George William Freder ...

, a civil servant for the British government, and Margery (née Hodder-Williams). He had an older brother, Patrick, and younger sister, Janet. Brock was educated at a preparatory school and then, from 1934,

Wellington College, Berkshire Wellington College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the village of Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. Wellington is a registered charity and currently educates roughly 1,200 pupils, between the ages of 13 a ...

. In 1938, he joined Corpus Christi College,

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, to study Classics. In 1940 during

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 opposing ...

, he joined the

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers R ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. In 1943, he fell ill in North Africa and returned to Cheshire as an adjutant. He rejoined Corpus Christi College in September 1945, but decided to study modern history instead of Classics, gaining a

first class degree 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 ...

in 1948.

Career

Brock continued after 1948 at Corpus Christi College until 1966, serving as a junior research fellow, senior tutor, proctor, librarian, and dean. He then became Deputy President to Sir Isaiah Berlin at Wolfson College, a new graduate college at Oxford. He held a visiting professor position at the

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, Israel. Brock and his wife Eleanor moved to

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

, Italy, to work collaboratively on editing letters written by

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

, a former British Liberal Prime Minister, which were stored in Rome. The letters were written before and during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

to the socialite

Venetia Stanley Venetia Anastasia Digby (née Stanley) (December 1600 – 1 May 1633) was a celebrated beauty of the Stuart period and the wife of a prominent courtier and scientist, Kenelm Digby. She was a granddaughter of Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Nort ...

(1887–1948), the daughter of

Lord Stanley Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...

. On his to England, in 1977 Brock briefly joined the

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

to oversee a merger with St Luke's College of Education. In 1978, he returned to Oxford to become

of Nuffield College, succeeding Sir Norman Chester. Brock edited volumes 6 and 7 of ''The History of the University of Oxford'', published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. Until 2000, he sat on the

Hebdomadal Council The Hebdomadal Council was the chief executive body for the University of Oxford from its establishment by the Oxford University Act 1854 until its replacement, in the Michaelmas term of 2000, by the new University Council. Chaired by the Vice- ...

, the executive council of Oxford University. In 1988, Brock left Nuffield College to become Warden of St George's House at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

for five years.

Honours

In 1981, Brock was appointed a CBE. In 1983 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He was also a Fellow of the

Royal Historical Society 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 ...

. His former college, Corpus Christi College, established the Michael Brock Junior Research Fellowship in his honour.

Selected books

* * * * *

Personal life

Michael Brock married Eleanor Morrison on 28 July 1949 in

Dufftown Dufftown ( gd, Baile Bhainidh ) is a burgh in Moray, Scotland. While the town is part of the historic Mortlach parish, the town was established and laid out in the early 19th century as part of a planned new town settlement. The town has severa ...

, Scotland. They lived in

Merton Street Merton Street is a historic and picturesque cobbled street in central Oxford, England.

, central

, and their first child, George, was born in 1951. The couple moved to

Linton Road Linton Road is a road in North Oxford, England. Location At the western end is the Banbury Road. At the eastern end is Wolfson College, a graduate college of the University of Oxford. To the north at the eastern end, Garford Road runs para ...

North Oxford North Oxford is a suburban part of the city of Oxford in England. It was owned for many centuries largely by St John's College, Oxford and many of the area's Victorian houses were initially sold on leasehold by the College. Overview The le ...

, in 1952. Their second child, David, was born in 1955, and their third child, Paul, was born in 1959. In 2014, Michael Brock died in Oxford.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brock, Michael 1920 births 2014 deaths People from Bromley People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II English historians Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Fellows of Wolfson College, Oxford Academics of the University of Exeter Wardens of Nuffield College, Oxford Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Middlesex Regiment officers