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Richard Pares (25 August 1902 – 3 May 1958) was a British historian. He "was considered to be among the outstanding British historians of his time."


Family life and education

The eldest son of the five children of the historian
Bernard Pares Sir Bernard Pares KBE (1 March 1867 – 17 April 1949) was an English historian and diplomat. During the First World War, he was seconded to the Foreign Ministry in Petrograd, Russia, where he reported political events back to London, and worke ...
(1867–1949) and his wife Margaret Ellis, Richard Pares won scholarships at
Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...
and at
Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...
, where he took a first-class degree in ''literae humaniores'' in 1924. On obtaining his Oxford degree, he was elected to a fellowship 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 ...
, which he retained until 1945. In 1937, he married Janet Lindsay Powicke, daughter of the historian
F. Maurice Powicke Sir Frederick Maurice Powicke (1879–1963) was an English medieval historian. He was a fellow of Merton College, Oxford and was a professor at Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University, Belfast and the Victoria University of Manchester ...
, and had four daughters.


Academic career

In 1927–28, he was appointed assistant lecturer in history at
University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget =  ...
, before obtaining a Laura Spelman Rockefeller Scholarship to do research in the United States and in the West Indies on mid-eighteenth-century trade. On his return to England, he was appointed lecturer in history at
New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...
. In 1940,
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 ...
interrupted his Oxford academic career and he became an administrative civil servant at the
Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
. On returning to his academic career in 1945 as professor of history at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
, he was appointed
Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in recognition of his wartime public service. He remained at Edinburgh until he resigned for reasons of health in 1954. In 1951, he was
Ford's Lecturer The Ford Lectures, technically the James Ford Lectures in British History, are an annual series of public lectures held at the University of Oxford on the subject of English or British history. They are usually devoted to a particular historical ...
in Oxford and he was joint editor of the ''
English Historical Review ''The English Historical Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1886 and published by Oxford University Press (formerly Longman). It publishes articles on all aspects of history – British, European, and wo ...
'' from 1939 to 1958. He was elected a fellow of the
British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
in 1948.J. G. E., D. H., and L. B. Namier, "Richard Pares". ''English Historical Review'', vol. 73, no. 289 (October 1958), pp. 577–582


Published books and pamphlets

* "Public records in British West India islands," reprinted from ''Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research'' vol. 7 (1930), pp. 149–157 * ''War and Trade in the West Indies, 1739-1763'' (1936, 1963) * "The economic factors in the history of the Empire," Reprinted from: ''Economic history review'', vol. 7, no. 2 (May 1937), pp. 119–144. * "The manning of the navy in the West Indies, 1702-63" Offprint from: ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'', 4th ser., v. 20, 1937, pp. 31–60. * "Prisoners of war in the West Indies in the 18th century" Reprinted from. ''Journal of the Barbados museum and historical society'' (1937). * ''Colonial Blockade and Neutral Rights, 1739-1763'' (1938, 1975). * ''A West-India Fortune'' (1950, 1968). * ''King George III and the Politicians: the Ford lectures delivered in the University of Oxford, 1951-52'' (1953) * ''Yankees and Creoles: the trade between North America and the West Indies before the American Revolution'' (1956) * ''Essays Presented to Sir Lewis Namier,'' edited by Richard Pares and Alan J. P. Taylor (1956, 1971). * ''Limited Monarchy in Great Britain in the Eighteenth Century'' (1957, 1967) * "Merchants and planters," ''Economic History Review''. Supplement 4. (1960) * ''The Historian's Business, and other essays,'' edited by R. A. and Elisabeth Humphreys; with an introduction by Lucy S. Sutherland. (1960).


References


External links


Oxford Dictionary of National Biography article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pares, Richard 1902 births 1958 deaths People from Colchester Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Academics of University College London Academics of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy 20th-century English historians