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Peter Mathias, (10 January 1928 – 1 March 2016) was a British
economic historian Economic history is the academic learning of economies or economic events of the past. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the application of economic theory to historical situations and inst ...
and the former
Chichele Professor The Chichele Professorships are statutory professorships at the University of Oxford named in honour of Henry Chichele (also spelt Chicheley or Checheley, although the spelling of the academic position is consistently "Chichele"), an Archbishop of ...
of
Economic History Economic history is the academic learning of economies or economic events of the past. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the application of economic theory to historical situations and ins ...
at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
. His research focused on the history of industry,
business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...
, and
technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
, both in
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
and
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. He is most well known for his publication of ''The First Industrial Nation: an Economic History of Britain 1700–1914'' (1969), which discussed not only the multiple factors that made industrialisation possible, but also how it was sustained.


Early life and education

Mathias was born in
Freshford, Somerset Freshford is a village and civil parish in the Avon valley south-east of Bath, in the county of Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 551. It is in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), within the Green Belt and i ...
to Jack Mathias (from
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
) and Marion (''née'') Love (from Wingfield). He attended
Colston's School Collegiate School (formerly known as Colston's Collegiate School and Colston’s School) is an independent day school in Bristol, England, and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It is currently in a period of transiti ...
and
Bristol Grammar School Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 mixed, independent day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowed by wealthy Bristol merchants Robert and Nicholas Thorn ...
where he became interested in
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
. In December 1945, he applied for a scholarship at
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 city ...
; instead he won an
Exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...
at
Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...
, during summer 1946. However the college demanded that those coming up from school should have done
military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...
before they arrived so he spent two years in the
army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
as a
conscript Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
. At Cambridge, his tutor was the
medievalist The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...
, Vivian Fisher, and the English economic
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
, Charles Wilson. Mathias also spent the 1952–3 academic year at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, participating in the Research Center for Entrepreneurial History.


Academic career

He was elected a Research Fellow at Jesus College, Cambridge, when he published his first book on the brewing industry in England. The manuscript described the importance of the technical aspects of brewing and manufacturing to the developing of the industry as a whole. Mathias then went out to complete a textbook on the history of industrialisation in Britain, ''The First Industrial Nation'' (1969). He was fellow of
Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...
, from 1955 to 1968, and later an Honorary Fellow from 1987. He was
Chichele Professor of Economic History Chichele is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Henry Chichele ( 1364–1443), English religious leader ** Chichele Professorship * Thomas Chichele (1614–1699), English politician See also *Chicheley (disambiguation) Chicheley i ...
at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
and fellow of
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 ...
. There, he was editor of the ''Cambridge Economic History of Europe'' and co-founded of ''The Journal of European Economic History''. He left Oxford to become master of
Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...
, from 1987 to 1995. Outside of research and teaching, Mathias contributed to the academic community with his positions at the Economic History Society (EHS) and the International Economic History Association (IEHA). He joined the former in his final year of undergraduate work at Cambridge. He continued to work for the EHS as Reviews Editor, Assistant Editor (1955–), Treasurer (1968–88), and President (1989–92). Meanwhile, the IEHA emerged from conferences at the
University of Stockholm Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, soci ...
, but expanded in the 1960s. Mathias also became a member of the Datini Institute in
Prato, Italy Prato ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city lies in the north east of Tuscany, at the foot of Monte Retaia, elevation , the last peak in the Calvana chain. With more than 200,000 i ...
in 1967, under the direction of
Fernand Braudel Fernand Braudel (; 24 August 1902 – 27 November 1985) was a French historian and leader of the Annales School. His scholarship focused on three main projects: ''The Mediterranean'' (1923–49, then 1949–66), ''Civilization and Capitalism'' ...
and Federigo Melis.


Later life

After retiring in 1995, he continued on advising and researching. He was the international advisor to
Keio University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endowmen ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, and President of the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation. For this work, he was granted the Order of the Rising Sun with Gold Rays in 2003. In 1998, Mathias'
Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...
, ''From Family Firms to Corporate Capitalism: Essays in Business and Industrial History in Honour of Peter Mathias'' was published by his former students, Kristine Bruland and Patrick O'Brien. Another Festschrift was published in 2018 entitled ''Asia and the history of the international economy : essays in memory of Peter Mathias'', edited by A. J. H. Latham and
Heita Kawakatsu has been the governor of Shizuoka Prefecture since 2009 and is currently serving his fourth term. He completed his D.Phil at wolfson college, Oxford, under Professor Peter Mathias and was Professor of Economics History at Waseda University, Tokyo ...
.


Honours


Commonwealth honours

; Commonwealth honours


Foreign honours

; Foreign honours


Scholastic

; Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships ;Honorary degrees


Memberships and Fellowships


Works

* * ''The Retailing Revolution: a History of Multiple Retailing in the Food Trades Based upon the Allied Suppliers Group of Companies'' (1967) *''The First Industrial Nation: an Economic History of Britain 1700–1914'' (1969) * (edited with
A.W.H. Pearsall Alan William Halliday Pearsall ISO, (born in Leeds on 14 November 1925 - died in London on 31 March 2006) was a naval and railway historian, who served for thirty years from 1955 to 1985 on the staff of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Ear ...
), ''Shipping: a survey of historical records'' (1971) * ''Science and Society 1600–1900'' (1972) *''The Transformation of England'' (1979) * (edited with D. C. Coleman) ''Enterprise and history: essays in honour of Charles Wilson'' (1984) * (edited with John A. Davis) ''The First Industrial Revolutions'' (1990) * (edited with John A. Davis) ''Innovation and technology in Europe : from the eighteenth century to the present day'' (1991) * (edited with John A. Davis) ''Enterprise and labour: from the eighteenth century to the present'' (1996) * (edited with John A. Davis) ''International trade and British economic growth : from the eighteenth century to the present day'' (1996)


Notes


References


British Academy Fellows Archive


External links


Interviewed by Alan Macfarlane 5 March 2008 and 23 September 2009 (video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathias, Peter 1928 births 2016 deaths British historians Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Fellows of Queens' College, Cambridge Economic historians Masters of Downing College, Cambridge People educated at Bristol Grammar School Chichele Professors of Economic History People educated at Colston's School Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the British Academy