Thomas Francis Dermot Pakenham, 8th Earl of Longford (born 14 August 1933), known simply as Thomas Pakenham, is an Anglo-Irish historian and

arborist An arborist, tree surgeon, or (less commonly) arboriculturist, is a professional in the practice of arboriculture, which is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants in dend ...

who has written several prize-winning books on the diverse subjects of

African history The history of Africa begins with the emergence of hominids, archaic humans and — around 300–250,000 years ago—anatomically modern humans ('' Homo sapiens''), in East Africa, and continues unbroken into the present as a patchwork of d ...

, Victorian and post-Victorian

British history The British Isles have witnessed intermittent periods of competition and cooperation between the people that occupy the various parts of Great Britain, the Isle of Man, Ireland, the Bailiwick of Guernsey, the Bailiwick of Jersey and ...

, and trees.

Background

Pakenham is the eldest son of the 7th Earl of Longford, a Labour

government minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, ...

, and the author

Elizabeth Longford Elizabeth Pakenham, Countess of Longford, (''née'' Harman; 30 August 1906 – 23 October 2002), better known as Elizabeth Longford, was a British historian. She was a member of the Royal Society of Literature and was on the board of trustees ...

.''

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher founded in 1826, when the Irish genealogist John Burke began releasing books devoted to the ancestry and heraldry of the peerage, baronetage, knightage and landed gentry of Great ...

'', vol. 2 (2003), p. 2395. He has seven siblings, among them the award-winning historian and biographer Lady

Antonia Fraser Lady Antonia Margaret Caroline Fraser, (' Pakenham; born 27 August 1932) is a British author of history, novels, biographies and detective fiction. She is the widow of the 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature, Harold Pinter (1930–2008), and p ...

(who is the widow of playwright Harold Pinter); Lady Rachel Billington, also a writer (and the widow of the director Kevin Billington); Lady Judith Kazantzis, a poet; and The Hon. Kevin Pakenham, who worked in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. He is also a cousin of the former Labour deputy leader

Harriet Harman Harriet Ruth Harman (born 30 July 1950) is a British politician and solicitor who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Camberwell and Peckham, formerly Peckham, since 1982. A member of the Labour Party, she has served in various Cabi ...

. Thomas Pakenham does not use his title of

Earl of Longford Earl of Longford is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland. History The title was first bestowed upon Francis Aungier, 3rd Baron Aungier of Longford, in 1677, with remainder to his younger brother Ambrose. He had previ ...

and before succeeding his father did not use his courtesy title. However, he has not disclaimed his British titles of Baron Silchester and Baron Pakenham under the

Peerage Act 1963 The Peerage Act 1963 (c. 48) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that permits women peeresses and all Scottish hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords and allows newly inherited hereditary peerages to be disclaimed. Backgro ...

, and his Irish earldom cannot be disclaimed, as it is not covered by the Act. Following the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

he is not entitled, as a hereditary peer, to sit in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. His father was created a life peer in addition to his hereditary titles in order to be able to retain his seat in the upper house.

Family

In 1964, Pakenham married Valerie Susan McNair Scott, daughter of Major Ronald Guthrie McNair Scott and the Hon. Mary Cecilia Berry, daughter of

William Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose William Ewart Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose DL (23 June 1879 – 15 June 1954) was a British peer and newspaper publisher. Life and career Berry was born in Merthyr Tydfil in Wales, the second of three sons of Mary Ann (Rowe) and John Mathias Ber ...

. They have four children: * Lady Anna Maria Pakenham, b. 26 July 1965 * Lady Eliza Pakenham, b. 3 November 1966 * Edward Melchior Pakenham, Baron Silchester, b. 6 January 1970. Lord Silchester is usually known as Ned Silchester or Ned Pakenham * The Hon. Frederick Augustus Pakenham, b. 27 November 1971

Biography

Pakenham was educated at Belvedere College, a secondary school in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, and Magdalen College, Oxford. After graduating in 1955, he travelled to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, a trip which is described in his first book ''The Mountains of Rasselas''. On returning to Britain, he worked on the editorial staff of the ''

Times Educational Supplement ''Tes'', formerly known as the ''Times Educational Supplement'', is a weekly UK publication aimed at education professionals. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in ''The Times'' newspaper. Such was its popularity that in 19 ...

'' and later for '' The Sunday Telegraph'' and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

''. He divides his time between

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and County Westmeath, Ireland, where he is the chairman of the Irish Tree Society and honorary custodian of

Tullynally Castle Tullynally Castle, also known as Pakenham Hall, is a country house situated some 2 km from Castlepollard on the Coole village road in County Westmeath, Ireland. The Gothic-style building has over 120 rooms and has been home to the Paken ...

. Pakenham owned Longford Greyhound Stadium and sold it in 1966 to Longford Sports Ltd.

Bibliography

Books authored or co-authored by Thomas Pakenham: * * * (winner of The Cheltenham Prize) * (winner of the

WH Smith Literary Award The WH Smith Literary Award was an award founded in 1959 by British high street retailer W H Smith. Its founding aim was stated to be to "encourage and bring international esteem to authors of the British Commonwealth"; originally open to all re ...

and the Alan Paton Award) * (made into a radio and television series of the same name) * * *''The Company of Trees: A Year in a Lifetime's Quest''. September 2015. .

Orion Publishing Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, ...

, London.

References

External links

Tullynally castleQueen's University honour Thomas Pakenham
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pakenham, Thomas 1933 births 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Living people English historians 20th-century Irish historians British writers Arborists English Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism Thomas People educated at Belvedere College Longford, Thomas Pakenham, 8th Earl of People in greyhound racing Sons of life peers