Lionel George Curtis CH (1872–1955) was a British official and author. He advocated British Empire Federalism and, late in life, a

world state World government is the concept of a single political authority with jurisdiction over all humanity. It is conceived in a variety of forms, from tyrannical to democratic, which reflects its wide array of proponents and detractors. A world gove ...

. His ideas concerning

dyarchy Diarchy (from Greek , ''di-'', "double", and , ''-arkhía'', "ruled"),Occasionally misspelled ''dyarchy'', as in the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' article on the colonial British institution duarchy, or duumvirate (from Latin ', "the office of ...

were important in the development of the

Government of India Act 1919 The Government of India Act 1919 (9 & 10 Geo. 5 c. 101) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was passed to expand participation of Indians in the government of India. The Act embodied the reforms recommended in the report o ...

and more generally, his writings influenced the evolution of the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the C ...

Life

Curtis was born at

Coddington, Herefordshire Coddington is a hamlet and civil parish in eastern Herefordshire, England, about north of Ledbury.Ordnance Survey mapping The west side of the parish covers part of the Malvern Hills, an official Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Coddington sh ...

in 1872, the youngest of the four children of George James Curtis, Anglican

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the parish, and his wife Frances Carr, daughter of the Rev. John Edmund Carr. He was educated at

Haileybury College Haileybury may refer to: Australia * Haileybury (Melbourne), a school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia **Haileybury Rendall School, an offshoot in Berrimah, North Territory, Australia China * Haileybury International School, an international ...

and then 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 ...

, where he read law. He fought in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the So ...

with the

City Imperial Volunteers The City of London Imperial Volunteers (CIV) was a British corps of volunteers during the Second Boer War. After the outbreak of the Second Boer War in October 1899, volunteer corps were established in most counties of the United Kingdom to prov ...

and served as secretary to

Lord Milner Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, (23 March 1854 – 13 May 1925) was a British statesman and colonial administrator who played a role in the formulation of British foreign and domestic policy between the mid-1890s and early 1920s. From ...

(a position that had also been held by adventure-novelist

John Buchan John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation. After a brief legal career ...

), during which time he dedicated himself to working for a united self-governing South Africa. Following Milner's death in 1925, he became the second leader of

Milner's Kindergarten Milner's Kindergarten is the informal name of a group of Britons who served in the South African Civil Service under High Commissioner Alfred, Lord Milner, between the Second Boer War and the founding of the Union of South Africa in 1910. It ...

until his own death in 1955. His experience led him to conceptualize his version of a

Federal World Government World government is the concept of a single political authority with jurisdiction over all humanity. It is conceived in a variety of forms, from tyrannical to democratic, which reflects its wide array of proponents and detractors. A world gov ...

, which became his life work. In pursuit of this goal, he founded (1910) the quarterly ''

Round Table The Round Table ( cy, y Ford Gron; kw, an Moos Krenn; br, an Daol Grenn; la, Mensa Rotunda) is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that ...

''. He was appointed (1912) Beit lecturer in colonial history 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 a Fellow of

All Souls College 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 ...

. In 1919 Curtis led a delegation of British and American experts to organize the

Royal Institute of International Affairs Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

during the Peace Conference of Paris. In 1947, Curtis was nominated for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolo ...

; in 1949, he was appointed a

Companion of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. Founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire, it is sometimes ...

, on the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of

Chatham House Chatham House, also known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is an independent policy institute headquartered in London. Its stated mission is to provide commentary on world events and offer solutions to global challenges. It is ...

Works

Curtis' most important works were: * ''The Problem of the Commonwealth'' (London: Macmillan, 1915); * ''The Commonwealth of Nations'' (1916); * ''Dyarchy'' (1920); and, * ''Civitas Dei: The Commonwealth of God'' (1938), arguing that the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

must rejoin the

British commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

and that the Commonwealth must evolve into a

world government World government is the concept of a single political authority with jurisdiction over all humanity. It is conceived in a variety of forms, from tyrannical to democratic, which reflects its wide array of proponents and detractors. A world gove ...

Notes

References

* ''World Revolution In The Cause of Peace'', Basil Blackwell, Oxford (1949) * ''From Empire to International Commonwealth: A Biography of Lionel Curtis'' by Deborah Lavin, Oxford University Press (1995), * ''The Round Table movement and imperial union'' by John Edward Kendle, University of Toronto Press (1975), * ''The Anglo-American Establishment'' by Professor Carroll Quigley

External links

* Curtis, Lione
''Round Table Movement - Past and Future, 1913''
* * ttp://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/scwmss/wmss/online/modern/curtis/curtis-lionel.html Catalogue of the papers of Lionel Curtis held at the Bodleian Library, Oxford {{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Lionel George 1872 births 1955 deaths People from Herefordshire British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British male journalists Editors of the Round Table Journal Members of the Inner Temple People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Alumni of New College, Oxford City Imperial Volunteers officers Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Chatham House people Transvaal Colony people