James Bysse Joll FBA (21 June 1918 – 12 July 1994) was a British historian and university lecturer whose works included ''The Origins of the First World War'' and ''Europe Since 1870''. He also wrote on the history of

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

and

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

Life and career

Joll was born on 21 June 1918 in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and was educated at

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, the University of Bordeaux and New College,

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 ...

. He left to join the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in 1940, eventually serving in the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

. He returned to Oxford after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, completed his studies, and became an instructor there. He was a Fellow and Tutor in Politics from 1947 until 1950. He then transferred to St Antony's College. In 1955 he met the painter and art historian John Golding; the two men formed a long relationship which lasted until Joll's death. While at Oxford, Joll wrote a book on the

Second International The Second International, also called the Socialist International, was a political international of Labour movement, socialist and labour parties and Trade union, trade unions which existed from 1889 to 1916. It included representatives from mo ...

(1955) and a book on Léon Blum, Walther Rathenau, and Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, called ''Intellectuals in Politics'' (1960). In 1964 he published '' The Anarchists'', which showed his intertwined interests in the culture, events, political philosophy, and individual personalities forming the history of a Leftist movement. In 1967 Joll left St Antony's, Oxford to teach at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, as the Stevenson Professor of International History. His best known work was ''Europe Since 1870: an International History'', which appeared in 1973. He returned to biography in 1977, with his book on Italian Marxist intellectual

Antonio Gramsci Antonio Francesco Gramsci ( , ; ; 22 January 1891 – 27 April 1937) was an Italian Marxist philosophy, Marxist philosopher, Linguistics, linguist, journalist, writer, and politician. He wrote on philosophy, Political philosophy, political the ...

; he was elected a Fellow of 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 the same year. Several prizes in the Department of International History at the

remain named in his honour. Later, he gave refuge to Anthony Blunt, Golding's colleague at the Courtauld Institute and former teacher, after Blunt's exposure as a former Soviet spy, for which Joll was attacked in the press. Following his retirement in 1981, he became

Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. Joll died 12 July 1994 from the cancer of the larynx. In his obituary notice for ''The Independent'' newspaper, the historian Sir Michael Howard, noted:

Joll's real focus was the history of ideas broadly conceived – philosophical, ethical and aesthetic, as well as political – and the interface between this and the political history of Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. He firmly believed that history was made by people rather than by dispassionate forces. But he also believed that one could not understand why people act as they do unless one also understands the influences that moulded their minds.

Works

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References

Notes Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joll, James 1918 births 1994 deaths English historians Fellows of the British Academy British Army personnel of World War II British Special Operations Executive personnel Alumni of New College, Oxford Academics of the London School of Economics Academics of the University of London Fellows of St Antony's College, Oxford English LGBTQ writers People educated at Winchester College Devonshire Regiment officers English biographers University of Bordeaux alumni 20th-century British biographers English male non-fiction writers Historians of anarchism 20th-century English male writers British expatriates in France Military personnel from Bristol