Alexander Danchev (26 August 1955 – 7 August 2016) was a British

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...

, and

army officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an Military, armed force or Uniformed services, uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warra ...

. His work ranged from

military history Military history is the study of War, armed conflict in the Human history, history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to Politics, local and international relationship ...

to the lives of artists. His originality stems from a vast erudition put at the service of a cross-understanding of disparate fields such as art and war.

Early life

Danchev was born in Bolton, Lancashire, in 1955 to Alfons Danchev, a Belgian-Bulgarian mining engineer, and his wife Anne (née Gilman). He studied history and economics at

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

, where he graduated in 1977. He then attended

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

, where he received a

Postgraduate Certificate in Education The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE/PGCertEd) is a one- or two-year higher education course in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and South Africa -where it can take up to three years- which provides training in order to allow graduate ...

. In 1978 he began teaching at the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

. In this capacity, he served as an officer in the Royal Army Education Corps for the next ten years. In addition to his teaching activities, he studied

War Studies War studies, sometimes called polemology, is the multi-disciplinary study of war. It pertains to the military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfa ...

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 received his doctorate there in 1984.

Career

In 1988 he left 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 ...

and held a research fellowship at King's College London. He then became a

Lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

International Relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

Keele University Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...

. He subsequently became a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

and head of department. From 2004 to 2014 he taught at the School of Politics and International Relations at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

. In 2014 he moved to the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, where he taught as Professor of International Relations until his death. Danchev was a visiting fellow at

Queen Mary, University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of London. Today, ...

and

St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economics, politic ...

. He wrote regularly for the ''

Times Higher Education ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The THES''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...

'' and ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'', the ''

London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of Book ...

'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''.

Personal life

Danchev was married to Dee Cooper since 1998. His wife brought two daughters into the marriage. He died of

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in August 2016 at the age of 60.

Selected works

* ''Oliver Franks: Founding Father'', (1993, Oxford University Press, Oxford) * ''Alchemist of War: The Life of Basil Liddell Hart'' (1998) * ''War Diaries: Field Marshal Lord Alanbrooke'' (2001) * ''Georges Braque: A Life'' (2005) * ''On Art and War and Terror'' (2009) * ''100 Artists’ Manifestos'' (2011) * ''Cézanne: A life'' (2012) * ''On Good and Evil and the Grey Zone'' (2015) *''Magritte: A Life'' (2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danchev, Alex 20th-century British historians 1955 births 2016 deaths Military personnel from the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton 20th-century British Army personnel Royal Army Educational Corps officers 21st-century British historians Academics of Keele University Academics of the University of Nottingham Academics of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst