Daniel Robert Snow (born 3 December 1978) is a British popular historian and television presenter. He is an ambassador of the

Electoral Reform Society The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) is an Advocacy group, independent advocacy organisation in the United Kingdom which promotes electoral reform. It seeks to replace first-past-the-post voting with proportional representation, advocating the si ...

(ERS).

Early life and education

Born in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, London Dan Snow is the youngest son of Peter Snow,

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television journalist, and Ann MacMillan, a Canadian and

managing editor A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication. United States In the United States, a managing edi ...

emerita of

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

's London Bureau; thus he holds dual British-Canadian citizenship. Through his mother, he is the nephew of Canadian historian

Margaret MacMillan Margaret Olwen MacMillan (born 23 December 1943) is a Canadian historian and professor at the University of Oxford. She is former provost of Trinity College, Toronto, and professor of history at the University of Toronto and previously at Ryers ...

and also a great-great-grandson of British Prime Minister

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

. Snow was educated in London at Westfield Primary School (now Barnes Primary) and at St Paul's School where he was Captain of School and rowed for its VIII. He then went to

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 ...

, his father's alma mater, and graduated with

first-class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

in Modern History. A keen rower since his secondary school days, he won the U-23 men's division at the 2000 British Indoor Rowing Championships and rowed three times in

the Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. It is also known as the U ...

, winning in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

and losing the controversial

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

Boat Race when club President.

Career

Snow presented his first programme in October 2002 just after graduating from university, co-presenting the BBC's 60th anniversary special on the Battles of El Alamein with his father

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

. The two then collaborated to present an eight-part documentary series called '' Battlefield Britain'', which aired in 2004, and won a

BAFTA Craft Award The British Academy Television Craft Awards is an accolade presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), a charitable organisation established in 1947, which: "supports, promotes and develops the art forms of the moving ima ...

for special effects. The same year, Snow won a

Sony award The Radio Academy Awards, started in 1983, were the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. For most of their existence, they were run by ZAFER Associates, but in latter years were brought under the control of The Radio Academy ...

as one of the presenters on the LBC Boat Race coverage. Snow presented on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's specials, with his mother Ann MacMillan, for

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

's funeral and

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

's coronation. Snow has presented on many state occasions such as the 200th anniversary celebration of the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

, '' Beating Retreat'' 2006, the 60th anniversary of the end of World War Two, the 90th anniversary of the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

in November 2008,

Trooping the Colour Trooping the Colour is a ceremonial event performed every year on Horse Guards Parade in London, United Kingdom, by regiments of Household Division, to celebrate the King's Official Birthday, official birthday of the British sovereign, though t ...

and the

Lord Mayor's Show The Lord Mayor's Show is one of the best-known annual events in London as well as one of the longest-established, dating back to the 13th century. A new lord mayor is appointed every year, and the public parade that takes place as their inaugura ...

. Snow again collaborated with his father to present BBC 2's '' 20th Century Battlefields'' and its print edition. The series covers battles all around the world and is presented in similar fashion to the first ''Battlefield Britain''. In early 2022, Snow was part of the Endurance22 expedition that found

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

explorer

Sir Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarc ...

's lost vessel, ''

Endurance Endurance (also related to sufferance, forbearance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, persistence, tenacity, steadfastness, perseverance, stamina, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a ...

'', 107 years after it sank in the

Weddell Sea The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha C ...

. It was announced he would dance with Nadiya Bychkova for the 2023 ''Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special''.

Television

Radio

*''Art in the Trenches'', Radio 4 *''At War with Wellington'', Radio 4 *''Prince of Wales'', Radio 4, a look at the history of the office of

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

and the current occupant

Online

* ''Dan Snow’s
History Hit
'Network *''The Historic Present Pod'', Charlie Gordon & Jonah Howe

Books

* * * * * * * * *

Awards and honours

Snow was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2019 Birthday Honours The 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as ...

for services to history. In 2019 Snow was awarded a Doctor of Letters (DLitt) honoris causa from

Lancaster University Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...

. Other awards and honours include: *BAFTA (Visual Effects) for 'Battlefield Britain' *Sony Award (Best Live Coverage) for Boat Race Day *BAFTA Cymru (Best Presenter) for 'Hadrian' *Maritime Media Award for best television, film or radio for 'Empire of the Seas' *2011 History Makers Award (Most Innovative Production) for 'Battle for North America' a 1-hour special on Snow's book 'Death or Victory.' Produced by Snow's production company Ballista * Voice of the Listener & Viewer Special Award 2013

Personal life

On 27 November 2010, Snow married the

criminologist Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

and philanthropist Lady Edwina Louise Grosvenor, second daughter of The 6th Duke of Westminster. The couple have three children, the eldest and youngest being daughters. Their home, in the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

, has a private beach. On 18 April 2010, Snow and a few friends took three

rigid-hulled inflatable boat A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull (watercraft), hull bottom joined to side-forming a ...

s from

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

to help 25 people return to Britain, after they had been stranded in France by the air travel disruption after the Icelandic eruption. At Calais they were told by the French authorities that they could not return to collect any more. In August 2011, he chased a group of rioters through

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a wikt:cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan and multiculturalism, multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting ...

in west London before tackling and performing a

citizen's arrest A citizen's arrest is an arrest made by a private citizen – a person who is not acting as a sworn Police officer, law-enforcement official. In common law jurisdictions, the practice dates back to medieval England and the English common law, in wh ...

on a looter who was fleeing from a shoe shop. Snow serves as President of the

Council for British Archaeology The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) is an educational charity established in 1944 in the UK. It works to involve people in archaeology and to promote the appreciation and care of the historic environment for the benefit of present and fut ...

and is a member of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), 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 H ...

. As an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

and a

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

, he is a Patron of

Humanists UK Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent Irreligion in the United Kingdom, non-religious people in the UK throug ...

and an Honorary Associate of the

National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. The Soc ...

. He is also an advocate for

political reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

, being the

's first ambassador. He played a prominent part in the 2011 Alternative Vote referendum in the UK; after he released a viral video, the campaign used a version of it, featuring him, as their final referendum broadcast. In August 2014, Snow was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''

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 ...

'' expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue. In June 2019, Snow wrote in a Twitter thread if Brexit happened and if the Scottish National Party won a majority of votes in Scotland, he would "get" why Scottish people would want to have a second referendum, as leaving the European Union could "put up barriers" for Scotland. He was then asked if this meant he now advise Scots to vote for independence, and he replied "No way. One thing Brexit has taught me is the utter insanity of trying to rip countries apart". Snow was one of sixteen board members of

More United More United was a cross-party political movement in the United Kingdom. It described itself as a "tech-driven political startup" that supported candidates regardless of party affiliation. The movement advocated for public service investment, de ...

, which endorsed candidates in parliamentary elections that support their values. The movement was set-up in July 2016 "to stand up for our values of opportunity, tolerance, the environment, democracy, and openness". Snow is an Honorary Captain in the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

References

External links

* *
Snow's History Hit Podcast
*
Dan Snow (official Periscope channel)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snow, Dan 1978 births Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford English atheists 21st-century English historians 21st-century British historians Historians of England English humanists British critics of religions English people of Scottish descent English people of Welsh descent English television presenters Living people Oxford University Boat Club rowers People educated at St Paul's School, London People from Westminster Dan Members of the Order of the British Empire Television personalities from London Royal Naval Reserve personnel