Anthony King (professor)
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Anthony Stephen King (17 November 1934 – 12 January 2017) was a Canadian-British professor of government, psephologist and commentator. He taught at the Department of Government at the
University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the an ...
for many years.


Early life

King was born in Canada on 17 November 1934, the son of Marjorie and Harold King. He gained a
B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in History and Economics at Queen's University, Ontario. In the 1950s, he moved to UK as a
Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...
to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
, after which he gained a
D.Phil. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
with thesis titled "Some aspects of the history of the Liberal Party in Britain, 1906–1914".


Career

He initially taught at
Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
, before transferring to Essex, from which he never officially retired. From 1969, he was Professor of Government at Essex, where he also led a Wednesday brainstorming class of selected bright students from the Department of Government. King taught the course ''GV100 – Introduction to Politics''. He also taught at
Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...
and the
University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
, in the United States. He regularly appeared on election results programming and analysed their implications. For each UK General Election from 1983 to 2005, he was BBC television's analyst on their election night programming. On a monthly basis, he analysed political opinion polls on voting intentions for ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
''. He also wrote many books on politics and was co-editor of the ''Britain at the Polls'' series of essays and, in 2008, ''The British Constitution''. King was co-author with David Butler of two
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 ...
election studies (those for 1964 and 1966) and author of ''Britain Says Yes: the 1975 Referendum on the Common Market'' and ''Running Scared: Why America's Politicians Campaign Too Much and Govern Too Little''. He was also co-author with
Ivor Crewe Sir Ivor Martin Crewe DL FAcSS (born 15 December 1945) was until 2020 the Master of University College, Oxford, and President of the Academy of Social Sciences. He was previously Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex and also a Professo ...
of the semi-official ''SDP: The Birth, Life and Death of the Social Democratic Party'' and ''The Blunders of our Governments''. He edited ''The New American Political System'', ''New Labour Triumphs: Britain at the Polls 1997'', ''Britain at the Polls 2001'' and ''Britain at the Polls 2005''. King was a member of the
Committee on Standards in Public Life The Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) is an advisory non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom Government, established by John Major in 1994 to advise the Prime Minister on ethical standards of public life. It promotes a code o ...
and the Royal Commission on the Reform of the House of Lords (the
Wakeham Commission {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 ''A House for the Future'', known as the Wakeham Report, published in 2000, was the report of a Royal Commission headed by Lord Wakeham, concerning reform of the House of Lords. Recommendations of the report In it ...
). In 2010, he was elected as a Fellow of the
British Academy The British Academy 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 same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
. He also served as an associate at the
Institute for Government The Institute for Government (IfG) is a British independent think tank which aims to improve government effectiveness through research and analysis. Based at 2 Carlton Gardens in central London and founded as a charity in 2008, it was initially ...
, a non-partisan charity that aims to improve the effectiveness of central Government in the UK. During the latter part of his life, his research focused on: the changing British constitution; the
British prime minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...
ship;
American politics The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that Separation of powers, share powers. These are: the United States Congress, U.S. Congre ...
and government and the history of democracy. King was also a member of the
Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...
, a foreign honorary member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) 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 ...
, and an honorary life
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...
.


Personal life

King married twice. His first wife Vera Korte, whom he married in 1965, died in 1971. He married his second wife Jan Reece in 1980. King died on 12 January 2017 at the age of 82.


Publications

* ''British Members of Parliament: A Self-portrait'' (1974) * "The View from Europe" with David Sanders in Charles O. Jones, ed., ''The Reagan Legacy: Promise and Performance'' (1988) * "Margaret Thatcher as a Political Leader" in
Robert Skidelsky Robert Jacob Alexander, Baron Skidelsky, (born 25 April 1939) is a British economic historian. He is the author of a three-volume award-winning biography of British economist John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946). Skidelsky read history at Jesus C ...
, ed. ''Thatcherism''. (1988) * ''Britain at the Polls 1992'' (editor) * ''The New American Political System''. (editor) (1990) * ''SDP: The Birth, Life and Death of the Social Democratic Party'' with
Ivor Crewe Sir Ivor Martin Crewe DL FAcSS (born 15 December 1945) was until 2020 the Master of University College, Oxford, and President of the Academy of Social Sciences. He was previously Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex and also a Professo ...
(co-winner of the 1996 W.J.M. Mackenzie Prize awarded by the
Political Studies Association The Political Studies Association (PSA) is a learned society in the United Kingdom which exists to develop and promote the study of politics. It is the leading association in its field in the United Kingdom, with an international membership includi ...
for the best book in the field of political science) (1995) * ''Running Scared: Why America's Politicians Campaign Too Much and Govern Too Little'' (1997) * ''New Labour Triumphs: Britain at the Polls'' (editor) (1998) * ''The British general election of 1966'' with David Butler. (1999) * ''Does the United Kingdom Still Have a Constitution?'' (2001) * ''Leaders' Personalities and the Outcomes of Democratic Elections''. (editor) (2002) * ''The British Constitution''. (2007) * ''The Founding Fathers v. the People: Paradoxes of American Democracy''. (2012) * ''The Blunders of Our Governments'' with
Ivor Crewe Sir Ivor Martin Crewe DL FAcSS (born 15 December 1945) was until 2020 the Master of University College, Oxford, and President of the Academy of Social Sciences. He was previously Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex and also a Professo ...
. (2014) * ''Who Governs Britain?'' (2015)


References


Sources


Staff Profile: Anthony King – Department of Government – University of Essex
*''Who's Who 2007'' {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Anthony 1934 births 2017 deaths Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford Canadian Rhodes Scholars Psephologists British political scientists Canadian expatriate academics in the United Kingdom Canadian political scientists Academics of the University of Essex Fellows of the British Academy Members of Academia Europaea Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Alumni of Nuffield College, Oxford