Norman Gash (16 January 1912 in

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

– 1 May 2009 in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

) was a British historian, best remembered for a two-volume biography of British prime minister

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

. He was professor of modern history at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

from 1955 to 1980 and specialised in the 19th century.

Early life

Gash was born in

, United Provinces (now

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

) in 1912, the son of Frederick Gash, a soldier in the

Royal Berkshire Regiment The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), by ...

, and of Kate Gash, ''née'' Hunt. He attended Wilson Road School and Palmer School in Reading, before gaining a scholarship to

Reading School Reading School is a grammar school for boys with academy status in the English town of Reading, the county of Berkshire. It traces its history back to the school of Reading Abbey and is, thus, one of the oldest schools in England. There are no ...

. He then attended

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

as a scholar, where he took a First in History in 1933. He subsequently completed a

B.Litt. Bachelor of Letters (BLitt or LittB; Latin ' or ') is a second undergraduate university degree in which students specialize in an area of study relevant to their own personal, professional, or academic development. This area of study may have been t ...

thesis on "The rural unrest in England in 1830 with special reference to Berkshire".

Biography of Sir Robert Peel

The first volume of Gash's biography of

''Mr Secretary Peel'' (1961) followed his life up until 1830, including his successful period at the Home Office in the 1820s and as far as

Catholic Emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

. The second volume ''Sir Robert Peel'' (1972) covered his opposition to the

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

and his tenures as Prime Minister from 1834 to 1835 and 1841–6. Gash argued that Peel's reforms were paramount in ending the "hungry forties" and bringing about Victorian prosperity. Though Gash's interpretations of Peel have been challenged in recent decades, by historians including

Boyd Hilton Andrew John Boyd Hilton, FBA (born 1944) is a British historian and a professor and fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He specialises in modern British history, from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century. Hilton was educated at Willi ...

, this work remains the definitive Peel biography.

Works

* ''Mr Secretary Peel'' (1961) * ''Reaction and Reconstruction in English Politics 1832-52'' (1965) * ''Age of Peel'' (1968) * ''Politics in the Age of Peel'' (1971) * ''Sir Robert Peel'' (1972) * ''Gash: Aristocracy and People: Britain 1815-65'' (1980) * ''Lord Liverpool - the Life and Political Career of Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl Liverpool'' (1985) * ''Pillars of Government and Other Essays on State and Society, 1770-1880'' (1986) * ''Wellington: Studies in the Political and Military Career of the First Duke of Wellington'' (1990) * ''Wellington Anecdotes'' (1992) * '' Robert Surtees and Early Victorian Society'' (1993)

External links

Obituary: Norman Gash
''Daily Telegraph'', 17 May 2009 * Links to biographical memoirs of fellows of the British Academy, including Norman Gas

1912 births 2009 deaths 20th-century biographers Academics of the University of St Andrews Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Fellows of St John's College, Oxford People educated at Reading School Scottish biographers 20th-century Scottish historians British people in colonial India {{UK-historian-stub