Bryan Ranft (14 July 1917 – 14 April 2001) was a historian of the Royal Navy, who served as Professor of History and International Affairs at the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...

, 1967–1977.

Early life and education

Ranft was educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a highly Selective school, selective Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom, private day school for boys aged 7-18 in Manchester, England, which was founded in 1515 by Hugh Oldham (then Bishop of Exeter). ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

. During

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 ...

, he joined the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, rising to the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. Well along in his career, Ranft completed his D.Phil. degree in history at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

in 1967 with a thesis on ''The naval defence of British sea-borne trade, 1860–1905''.

Academic career

Upon leaving the Royal Artillery, Ranft joined the staff of the

and rose to become Professor of History and International Affairs. He was a visiting fellow at

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 ...

, where he taught naval history to several generations of postgraduate students, and was appointed visiting professor in 1982.

Published works

* ''The Vernon Papers'',edited by B. McL. Ranft. Publications of the

Navy Records Society The Navy Records Society was established in 1893 as a scholarly text publication society to publish historical documents relating to the history of the Royal Navy. Professor Sir John Knox Laughton and Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge were the key lea ...

, vol. 99. ondon Printed for the Navy Records Society, 1958. * ''Greenwich: palace, hospital, college'', by

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and television shows since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future (franchise), ''B ...

; revised by Bryan Ranft. London: Royal Naval College, 1969. * ''Technical change and British naval policy, 1860–1939'', edited by Bryan Ranft. London : Hodder and Stoughton, 1977. * ''The sea in Soviet strategy'', Bryan Ranft and

Geoffrey Till Geoffrey Till (born in London, England, on 14 January 1945) is a British naval historian and emeritus professor of maritime studies in the Defence Studies Department of King's College London. He is the director of the Corbett Centre for Mariti ...

. London: Macmillan, 1983, 1989. * ''Ironclad to Trident: 100 years of defence commentary: Brassey's 1886–1986'', edited by Bryan Ranft. London: Brassey's, 1986. * ''The Beatty papers: selections from the private and official correspondence of Admiral of the Fleet Earl Beatty'', edited by B. McL. Ranft. Two volumes. Aldershot: Scolar Press for the

, 1989–1993. * ''The Oxford illustrated history of the Royal Navy'', general editor, J. Richard Hill; consultant editor, Bryan Ranft. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1995. * "Beatty, David, first Earl Beatty (1871–1936)’ in the

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

, 2004 * ''The development of British naval thinking: essays in memory of Bryan Ranft'', edited by

. London : Routledge, 2006.

Sources

* Obituary "Professor Bryan Ranft: Historian of the Royal Navy", ''Guardian'', 25 May 2001. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranft, Bryan 1917 births 2001 deaths People educated at Manchester Grammar School Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Academics of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Academics of King's College London English naval historians British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery officers 20th-century English historians