Clive Emsley (4 August 1944 – 5 October 2020) was a British historian and

criminologist Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and s ...

. He was a research director and lecturer at the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...

Biography

After his first degree at the

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

, where he was one of the initial intake of 150 undergraduates, he did research at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

, into the maintenance of public order in England during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

. At this point he had to make a career decision, having been a prominent member of the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and registered charity in London. Its aim is to develop and nurture young people through creative arts and theatrical productions. Founded in 1956 as the world's first youth the ...

as an actor during his time at university. He played the part of Enobarbus (cf Rob Wilton's Theatricalia programme) in a celebrated production of 'Anthony and Cleopatra', with

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdo ...

as Cleopatra, and as a result was offered professional roles. However, he decided to stay in academia and refused the chance to become an actor though he kept his association with the National Youth Theatre during summer stints as an associate director, including 'Julius Caesar' which played in Germany in 1968. He joined the

in 1970 as a lecturer, but was later a visiting fellow at

Griffith University Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland on the east coast of Australia. Formally founded in 1971, Griffith opened its doors in 1975, introducing Australia's first degrees in environmental science and Asia ...

, Brisbane, Australia, where he advised on distance teaching (1983) and co-authored a teaching module (1996) which now forms part of a taught MA both at Griffith and the Open University. He was visiting professor at the University of Paris VIII (Vincennes-St.Denis) (1983–1984) and at the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being inst ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

(1988 and 1990). He was elected president of the International Association for the History of Crime and Criminal Justice in 1995 and continued in the post. From October to November 2003 he was visiting professor at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

, Christchurch, New Zealand, and from September to December 2004, visiting research fellow at the Humanities Research Centre at the Australian University, Canberra. He maintained a research interest in the revolutionary and

Napoleonic era The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislativ ...

, but from the early 1980s onwards, his work focused primarily on the history of crime and policing. He co-directed the Old Bailey Proceedings Online project. In 2000 he was awarded a D.Litt. by the

for his published work in the history of crime and policing. He was director of the European Centre for the Study of Policing, and co-director of the International Centre for Comparative Criminological Research.

Bibliography

* * *''Crime and Society in England, 1750-1900'', 1987, 1996, 2004 *''The English Police: A Political and Social History'', 1991, 1996 *''Gendarmes and the State in Nineteenth-century Europe'', 1999 *''Britain and the French Revolution'', 2000 *''Napoleon: Conquest, Reform and Reorganisation'', 2003 *''Hard Men: Violence in England since 1750'', 2005 *''Crime, Police and Penal Policy: European Experiences, 1750-1940'', 2007 *''The Great British Bobby: A history of British policing from 1829 to the present'', 2009 *''Soldier, Sailor, Beggarman, Thief'', 2013 *

Book reviews

References

External links

Biography
Open University Department of History

European Centre for the Study of Policing (Open University) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Emsley, Clive British historians 1944 births 2020 deaths Alumni of the University of York Academics of the Open University History Today people National Youth Theatre members