Sidney Aster is a professor emeritus at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

Mississauga, Historical Studies Department, and a Fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

. After graduating with a BA (History and Political Science) and MA (History) from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

, Montreal, he moved to

London, England London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. He completed his PhD in international history at the

London School of Economics and Political Science The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

. He lectured for a year at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, then returned to London to work as a freelance writer and historian. Among his assignments was to act as principal research assistant to Sir

Martin Gilbert Sir Martin John Gilbert (25 October 1936 – 3 February 2015) was a British historian and honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. He was the author of eighty-eight books, including works on Winston Churchill, the 20th century, and Jewish h ...

, who had succeeded

Randolph Churchill Randolph Frederick Edward Spencer-Churchill (28 May 1911 – 6 June 1968) was an English journalist, writer, soldier, and politician. He served as Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Preston from 1940 to 1945. The only son of British ...

as the official biographer of

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

. In the following years, Aster collaborated variously with V. V. Tilea, Romanian Minister to London, 1938-1940, Sir William Seeds, British Ambassador to Moscow, 1938-1941, and the British industrialist, A. P. Young, on the latter’s involvement with the German pre- and wartime resistance. For several years he also met weekly with

Arthur Salter, 1st Baron Salter James Arthur Salter, 1st Baron Salter, (15 March 1881 – 27 June 1975) was a British politician and academic, who played a minor, but important role in the foundations of pan-European government. Background and education Salter was the eldes ...

to discuss the latter’s multi-faceted career as an international civil servant, MP, cabinet minister, journalist and author. At the same time, he published three books in four years: ''1939, The Making of the Second World War'', ''Anthony Eden: A Biography'', and ''The "X" Documents, The Secret History of Foreign Office Contacts with the German Resistance 1937-1939''. He also acted as a book reviewer 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 f ...

''. After a stay of 12 years in London, Aster returned to Canada in 1976 to take up a position with the Department of History, University of Toronto. His teaching interests ranged widely over the span of British history, 1485–present, Irish history from the beginnings to “the time of trouble,” the Welfare State, and diplomatic relations between the great powers. During this period, Aster continued to publish extensively on appeasement and revisionism, Neville Chamberlain, and the origins of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He also contributed to a number of essay collections, encyclopaedias, research guides and articles for academic journals. His latest publications include ''Appeasement and All Souls: A Portrait with Documents, 1937-1939'', ''Dealing with Josef Stalin: The Moscow Blue Book, 1939'', and a biography titled ''Power, Policy and Personality: The Life and Times of Lord Salter, 1881–1975''.

References

External links

Inventory of the Papers of Sidney Aster, Mills Memorial Library, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aster, Sidney University of Toronto Mississauga faculty Living people Fellows of the Royal Historical Society McGill University alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics Year of birth missing (living people)