Norman John Greville Pounds (23 February 1912 – 24 March 2006) was an English geographer and historian. He wrote over 30 books, primarily on the history and geography of Europe from several different time periods.

Early life and career

Pounds grew up in

Bath, England Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the ceremonial counties of England, county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 1 ...

, where he was born on 23 February 1912. He went to three schools in the area. The first two were Church of England schools which began his opposition to organised religion. He attended King Edward's School on a scholarship between 1923 and 1931. He then studied at Fitzwilliam House at

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

where hereceived a diploma in education. He became a geography and history teacher at

Falmouth Grammar School Falmouth Grammar School was a grammar school in Falmouth, Cornwall, UK from 1887 to 1971. Notable students and staff *John Sydney Hicks *Roger Hosen *Paul Martin *Trevor McCabe *Norman Pounds *Sam Toy *Richard M. Trevethan Squadron Leader Ri ...

in Cornwall between 1935 and 1944. When 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 ...

broke out in 1939, he was declared medically unfit for active service and instead worked as a firewatcher. He also spent this time writing his PhD on the historical geography of Cornwall and received a first-class geography and history BA degree from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. Pounds began teaching geography at

The University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1945 before moving onto

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

in the 1950s where he was a geography professor until 1968. He continued to teach at various institutions for several decades, finally stopping in 2004 at the age of 92.

Personal life

Pounds' father, John Greville Pounds (1883–1935), was a compositor and his mother, Camilla Martha Minnie née Fisher (1884–1963) was a teacher. He married Dorothy Josephine Mitchell (1910–1989) in 1938. He died on 24 March 2006 of

Leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

which he was diagnosed with at age 87.

Early life and career

Personal life

References

Further reading