Michael George Brock (9 March 1920 – 30 April 2014) was a British historian who was associated with several Oxford colleges during his academic career. He was

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...

of Nuffield College, Oxford, from 1978 to 1988.

Youth and education

Michael Brock was born in Bromley, Kent, England. His parents were Sir Laurence Brock, a civil servant for the British government, and Margery (née Hodder-Williams). He had an older brother, Patrick, and younger sister, Janet. Brock was educated at a preparatory school and then, from 1934, Wellington College, Berkshire. In 1938, he joined Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford, to study

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. In 1940 during World War II, he joined the Middlesex Regiment of the British Army. In 1943, he fell ill in North Africa and returned to

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

as an

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

. He rejoined Corpus Christi College in September 1945, but decided to study

modern history The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...

instead of Classics, gaining a first class degree in 1948.

Career

Brock continued after 1948 at Corpus Christi College until 1966, serving as a junior research fellow, senior tutor, proctor, librarian, and dean. He then became Deputy President to Sir

Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...

at Wolfson College, a new graduate college at Oxford. He held a visiting professor position at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. Brock and his wife Eleanor moved to Bologna, Italy, to work collaboratively on editing letters written by

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

, a former British Liberal Prime Minister, which were stored in Rome. The letters were written before and during the First World War to the socialite Venetia Stanley (1887–1948), the daughter of Lord Stanley. On his to England, in 1977 Brock briefly joined the University of Exeter to oversee a merger with

St Luke's College of Education St Luke's Campus is a small university campus which is part of the University of Exeter. The School of Sport and Health Sciences, the Graduate School of Education, and the Medical School are all based at St Luke's. St Luke's is also home to the ...

. In 1978, he returned to Oxford to become

Nuffield College Nuffield College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college and specialises in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. Nuffield is one of Oxford's newer co ...

, succeeding Sir

Norman Chester Sir Daniel Norman Chester, CBE (27 October 1907 – 20 September 1986) was a British political economist and academic administrator. He was the warden of Nuffield College, Oxford, from 1954 to 1978. Early life and education Chester was born in 1907 ...

. Brock edited volumes 6 and 7 of ''The History of the University of Oxford'', published by Oxford University Press. Until 2000, he sat on the Hebdomadal Council, the executive council of Oxford University. In 1988, Brock left Nuffield College to become Warden of

St George's House ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

at Windsor Castle for five years.

Honours

In 1981, Brock was appointed a CBE. In 1983 he became a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. His former college, Corpus Christi College, established the Michael Brock Junior Research Fellowship in his honour.

Selected books

* * * * *

Personal life

Michael Brock married Eleanor Morrison on 28 July 1949 in Dufftown, Scotland. They lived in

Merton Street Merton Street is a historic and picturesque cobbled street in central Oxford, England. ...

, central Oxford, and their first child, George, was born in 1951. The couple moved to Linton Road, North Oxford, in 1952. Their second child, David, was born in 1955, and their third child, Paul, was born in 1959. In 2014, Michael Brock died in Oxford.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brock, Michael 1920 births 2014 deaths People from Bromley People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II English historians Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Fellows of Wolfson College, Oxford Academics of the University of Exeter Wardens of Nuffield College, Oxford Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Middlesex Regiment officers