John Habakkuk
Encyclopedia
Sir John Habakkuk (13 May 1915 – 3 November 2002) was a British
economic historian
.
, Wales
, the son of Evan and Anne Habakkuk. He was named "Hrothgar" after Hroðgar
in Beowulf
, which his father was reading at the time of his birth. However, he came to be known as John when he started to travel to the United States
, and when he was knighted he found it easier to call himself 'Sir John' than 'Sir Hrothgar'. His surname was assumed by a relatively recent forebear after the prophet Habakkuk
.
He was educated at Barry County School and St John's College, Cambridge
(scholar and Strathcona Student, starred first class degree in History 1936). (He was not, as sometimes erroneously stated, connected with Jesus College, Cambridge
). He began to study for a PhD
under John Clapham
, but his progress was interrupted by the Second World War. In 1938, he was elected a Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge
, a position he held until 1950. He worked in the Foreign Office
1939–42 and the Board of Trade
1942–46, during which period he still found time to carry out research at the Public Record Office
and in the archives of country houses. After World War II
, he was from 1946 until 1950 Director of Studies and Librarian of the college and Lecturer in the Faculty of Economics. In 1973, Pembroke
elected him to an Honorary Fellowship. From 1950 until 1960, he was editor, with Michael Postan, of The Economic History Review
.
In 1950, he moved to Oxford
, where he would remain for the rest of his life. At the age of just thirty-five he had been appointed Chichele Professor of Economic History
in the University of Oxford
and Professorial Fellow of All Souls College
. He held this appointment until 1967, when he became Principal of Jesus College
. He also served as Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University (1973–77) and Pro-Vice-Chancellor
(1977–84). He retired in 1984 and was Ford Lecturer in the following year. All Souls
re-elected him to a fellowship in 1988. He was also President of University College, Swansea
from 1975 until 1984 and an honorary fellow of the college from 1991. He was Visiting Professor at Harvard University
1954/5 and at University of California, Berkeley
(Ford Research Professor) 1962/3.
Habakkuk was elected a Fellow of the British Academy
in 1965 and a member of the American Philosophical Society
in 1966. He was appointed Knight Bachelor
in 1976. In the same year he began a four-year term as President of the Royal Historical Society
. He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters
honoris causa by the Universities of Wales
(1971), Cambridge
(1973), Pennsylvania
(1975), Kent
(1978), and Ulster
(1988).
He was a member of the Advisory Council on Public Records 1958–70, the Social Science Research Council
1967–71, the National Libraries Committee 1968–69, the Administrative Board of the International Association of Universities 1975–84, and the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts
1978–90. He was Chairman of the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals of the Universities of the United Kingdom
1976–77, the Advisory Group on London Health Services 1980–81, and the Oxfordshire District Health Authority 1981–84. He was president of the Royal Historical Society
(1977–1981),
Habakkuk was married to his former student, Mary Richards (died 2002), in 1948. They had a son and three daughters. He died, from renal failure and myelodysplasia, at the house of one of his daughters, Little Orchard, Scot Lane, Chew Stoke
, in Somerset
, England
, on 3 November 2002.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
economic historian
Economic history
Economic history is the study of economies or economic phenomena in the past. Analysis in economic history is undertaken using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and by applying economic theory to historical situations and institutions...
.
Biography
Habakkuk was born in Barry, Vale of GlamorganVale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan is a county borough in Wales; an exceptionally rich agricultural area, it lies in the southern part of Glamorgan, South Wales...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, the son of Evan and Anne Habakkuk. He was named "Hrothgar" after Hroðgar
Hroðgar
Hroðgar, King Hroþgar, "Hrothgar", Hróarr, Hroar, Roar, Roas or Ro was a legendary Danish king, living in the early 6th century....
in Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
, which his father was reading at the time of his birth. However, he came to be known as John when he started to travel to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and when he was knighted he found it easier to call himself 'Sir John' than 'Sir Hrothgar'. His surname was assumed by a relatively recent forebear after the prophet Habakkuk
Habakkuk
Habakkuk , also spelled Habacuc, was a prophet in the Hebrew Bible. The etymology of the name of Habakkuk is not clear. The name is possibly related to the Akkadian khabbaququ, the name of a fragrant plant, or the Hebrew root חבק, meaning "embrace"...
.
He was educated at Barry County School and St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
(scholar and Strathcona Student, starred first class degree in History 1936). (He was not, as sometimes erroneously stated, connected with Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
). He began to study for a PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
under John Clapham
John Clapham
Sir John Harold Clapham, CBE, LittD, FBA was a British economic historian.He was educated at The Leys School in Cambridge and King's College, Cambridge. He was the first Professor of Economic History at Cambridge University from 1928 to 1938, and Vice-Provost of King's College, Cambridge from 1933...
, but his progress was interrupted by the Second World War. In 1938, he was elected a Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
, a position he held until 1950. He worked in the Foreign Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
1939–42 and the Board of Trade
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
1942–46, during which period he still found time to carry out research at the Public Record Office
Public Record Office
The Public Record Office of the United Kingdom is one of the three organisations that make up the National Archives...
and in the archives of country houses. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he was from 1946 until 1950 Director of Studies and Librarian of the college and Lecturer in the Faculty of Economics. In 1973, Pembroke
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
elected him to an Honorary Fellowship. From 1950 until 1960, he was editor, with Michael Postan, of The Economic History Review
The Economic History Review
The Economic History Review is a peer-reviewed history journal published quarterly by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Economic History Society. It was established in 1927 by Eileen Power and is edited by Steve Hindle and Steven Broadberry. Its first editors were E. Lipson and R. H. Tawney and...
.
In 1950, he moved to Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, where he would remain for the rest of his life. At the age of just thirty-five he had been appointed Chichele Professor of Economic History
Chichele Professor of Economic History
The Chichele chair in Economic History is one of the statutory Chichele Professorships established at All Souls College, Oxford. This chair was originally established in 1931.-Chichele Professors of Economic History:* George Norman Clark, 1931* W. K...
in the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and Professorial Fellow of All Souls College
All Souls College, Oxford
The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....
. He held this appointment until 1967, when he became Principal of Jesus College
Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...
. He also served as Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University (1973–77) and Pro-Vice-Chancellor
Pro-Vice-Chancellor
In a university, an assistant to a vice-chancellor is called a pro-vice-chancellor . These are sometimes teaching academics who take on additional responsibilities. Some of these responsibilities are in charge of Administration, Research and Development, Academic and Education affairs...
(1977–84). He retired in 1984 and was Ford Lecturer in the following year. All Souls
All Souls College, Oxford
The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....
re-elected him to a fellowship in 1988. He was also President of University College, Swansea
Swansea University
Swansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...
from 1975 until 1984 and an honorary fellow of the college from 1991. He was Visiting Professor at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
1954/5 and at University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
(Ford Research Professor) 1962/3.
Habakkuk was elected a Fellow of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
in 1965 and a member of the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
in 1966. He was appointed Knight Bachelor
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in 1976. In the same year he began a four-year term as President of the Royal Historical Society
Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society was founded in 1868. The premier society in the United Kingdom which promotes and defends the scholarly study of the past, it is based at University College London...
. He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters is a university academic degree, often a higher doctorate which is frequently awarded as an honorary degree in recognition of outstanding scholarship or other merits.-Commonwealth:...
honoris causa by the Universities of Wales
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...
(1971), Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
(1973), Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
(1975), Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
(1978), and Ulster
University of Ulster
The University of Ulster is a multi-campus, co-educational university located in Northern Ireland. It is the largest single university in Ireland, discounting the federal National University of Ireland...
(1988).
He was a member of the Advisory Council on Public Records 1958–70, the Social Science Research Council
Social Science Research Council
The Social Science Research Council is a U.S.-based independent nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing research in the social sciences and related disciplines...
1967–71, the National Libraries Committee 1968–69, the Administrative Board of the International Association of Universities 1975–84, and the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts
Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts
The Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts , a UK body, was established in 1869 "to make enquiry as to the places where manuscripts and private papers of historical interest were located and to report on their contents"....
1978–90. He was Chairman of the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals of the Universities of the United Kingdom
Universities UK
Universities UK began life as the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals of the Universities of the United Kingdom in the nineteenth century when there were informal meetings involving Vice-Chancellors of a number of universities and Principals of university colleges...
1976–77, the Advisory Group on London Health Services 1980–81, and the Oxfordshire District Health Authority 1981–84. He was president of the Royal Historical Society
Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society was founded in 1868. The premier society in the United Kingdom which promotes and defends the scholarly study of the past, it is based at University College London...
(1977–1981),
Habakkuk was married to his former student, Mary Richards (died 2002), in 1948. They had a son and three daughters. He died, from renal failure and myelodysplasia, at the house of one of his daughters, Little Orchard, Scot Lane, Chew Stoke
Chew Stoke
Chew Stoke is a small village and civil parish in the Chew Valley, in Somerset, England, about south of Bristol. It is at the northern edge of the Mendip Hills, a region designated by the United Kingdom as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is within the Bristol/Bath green belt...
, in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, on 3 November 2002.
Publications
- John Habakkuk, Marriage, debt, and the estates system: English landownership 1650–1950 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994).
- John Habakkuk, Population growth and economic development since 1750 (Leicester: Leicester University Press, 1971).
- John Habakkuk, Industrial organisation since the Industrial Revolution (Southampton: University of SouthamptonUniversity of SouthamptonThe University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...
, 1968). - John Habakkuk, American and British technology in the nineteenth century: the search for labour-saving inventions (Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
, 1962). - John Habakkuk et al., Lectures on economic development=Études sur le développement économique (Iktisat Fakültesi nesriyatı no. 101, Istanbul: Faculty of Economics, Istanbul UniversityIstanbul UniversityIstanbul University is a Turkish university located in Istanbul. The main campus is adjacent to Beyazıt Square.- Synopsis :A madrasa, a religious school, was established sometime in the 15th century after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. An institution of higher education named the...
, and Faculty of Political Sciences, Ankara UniversityAnkara UniversityAnkara University is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in the Turkish Republic....
, 1958). - H.J. Habakkuk, 'English Landownership, 1680–1740', Economic History Review 1st series 10.1 (February 1940), pp. 2–17.
Sources
- Debrett's People of Today (12th edn, London: Debrett's Peerage, 1999), p. 816.