Walter Garrison Runciman, 3rd Viscount Runciman of Doxford (10 November 1934 – 10 December 2020), usually known informally as Garry Runciman, was a British historical sociologist and

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

. A senior research fellow at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, Runciman wrote several publications in his field. He also sat on the Securities and Investments Board and chaired the British Government's Royal Commission on Criminal Justice (1991–1993).

Background

Runciman was the son of Leslie Runciman, 2nd Viscount Runciman of Doxford, by his second wife, Katherine Schuyler Garrison. The British historian

Sir Steven Runciman Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman (7 July 1903 – 1 November 2000), known as Steven Runciman, was an English historian best known for his three-volume ''A History of the Crusades'' (1951–54). His works had a profound impact on the popular ...

was his uncle. Runciman was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, where he was an Oppidan Scholar, and

. He inherited the viscountcy on the death of his father in 1989.

Career

Runciman joined the faculty of

, in the 1950s as a historical sociologist and became a junior research fellow after submitting a thesis entitled ''Plato's Later Epistemology''. In the 1960s he became primarily a sociologist. He became a senior research fellow in 1971, researching in the field of comparative and historical sociology. Runciman's principal research interest was the application of neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory to cultural and social selection.Bio at Trinity College website
trin.cam.ac.uk; Accessed 12 July 2014. He held honorary degrees from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

and the Universities of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, and

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. He was also an Honorary Foreign Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

and an Honorary Bencher of

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

. He was elected to the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies 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 sa ...

in 1975 and served as its president from 2001 to 2005. Runciman was also an honorary fellow of

Nuffield College, Oxford Nuffield College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college specialising in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. N ...

Official and parliamentary work

Runciman was invited by the Governor of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

to serve on the Securities and Investment Board (later to become the

Financial Services Authority The Financial Services Authority (FSA) was a quasi-judicial body accountable for the regulation of the financial services industry in the United Kingdom between 2001 and 2013. It was founded as the Securities and Investments Board (SIB) in 1985 ...

), from which he retired in 1998. Runciman chaired the British Government's Royal Commission on Criminal Justice, established in 1991 and which continued Sir John May's inquiry into the convictions of the

Maguire Seven The Guildford Four and Maguire Seven were two groups of people, mostly Northern Irish, who were wrongly convicted in English courts in 1975 and 1976 of the Guildford pub bombings of 5 October 1974 and the Woolwich pub bombing of 7 November 1974. ...

and encompassed further miscarriages of justice. It reported to parliament in 1993. As a result, the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 established the

Criminal Cases Review Commission The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is the statutory body responsible for investigating alleged miscarriages of justice in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It was established by Section 8 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 and be ...

as an executive Non-Departmental Public Body. Runciman was a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

as a

from the time he inherited the viscountcy on 1 September 1989. He spoke 26 times in the chamber until 11 November 1999 when he lost his right to sit there when the bulk of the hereditary peers were removed by 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 ...

. Runciman sat for a subsequent by-election to the Lords in 2010 to fill the

Crossbench A crossbencher is a minor party or independent politician, independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. ...

hereditary seat vacancy following the death of Lord Colville of Culross; the House seat went to the

Earl of Clancarty Earl of Clancarty is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland. History The title was created for the first time in 1658 in favour of Donough MacCarty, 2nd Viscount Muskerry, of the MacCarthy of Muskerry dynasty. He had ...

Publications

Runciman's first major publication was ''Relative Deprivation and Social Justice: a Study of Attitudes to Social Inequality in Twentieth-Century Britain''. Since then, he has published ''A Critique of Max Weber's Philosophy of Social Science'', ''A Treatise on Social Theory'', and ''The Social Animal''. In 2004, he edited and contributed to a British Academy occasional paper ''Hutton and Butler: Lifting the Lid on the Workings of Power'', which deals with the events surrounding Britain's participation in the invasion of Iraq and the way in which it was presented to the British public.

Marriage and children

Runciman married Ruth Hellman on 17 April 1963. She was made a

Dame 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(DBE) in 1998. They had three children: * Hon. Lisa Runciman (born 18 August 1965) * David Walter Runciman, 4th Viscount Runciman of Doxford (born 1 March 1967) * Hon. Catherine Runciman (born 18 July 1969) Runciman died on 10 December 2020. His heir, the 4th Viscount, is a political scientist and writer who teaches at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

as a Professor of Politics.http://www.burkespeerage.com/
Runciman
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Arms

Notes

References

External links

*
Interviewed by Alan Macfarlane 16 April 2014 (video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Runciman, Garry 1934 births 2020 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British sociologists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English people of Scottish descent Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Garry Runciman People educated at Eton College Presidents of the British Academy Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Runciman of Doxford Historical sociologists