David Thomson (13 January 1912 – 24 February 1970) Beales, Derek
"Thomson, David (1912–1970)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, September 2004. Retrieved 3 March 2024. was an English

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 ...

who wrote several books about British and European history.

Education

Thomson was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, the son of a printer. He was educated at Sir George Monoux Grammar School,

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a town within the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London. The town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South Woodford to the east, Leyton and Leytonstone to the south, and Tottenham to the west. At ...

, and was then a Scholar of

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

, from 1931 to 1934. where he took first-class honours with distinction in both parts of the Historical Tripos. He had a long association with the college and was subsequently a Research Fellow, a Fellow and finally Master.

Career

He worked as a university lecturer in history and was a visiting professor at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in New York. His works included ''Europe Since Napoleon'' (Longmans, 1957); ''World History from 1914 to 1961'' (1963); ''Democracy in France since 1870'' (1964) and two volumes of the ''

Pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before ...

History of England'', which covered the 19th and the 20th centuries.David Thomson : ''Europe Since Napoleon'' (Longmans, 1957) – frontispiece of 1978 Penguin edition.

Approach

In his preface to the Pelican edition (1966) of ''Europe Since Napoleon'', Thomson wrote that he had attempted to present "the history of the last 150 years of European civilisation in a new way". He doubted the "conventional belief" that countries must be treated separately except when their delegates convene for a conference. He held that "tendencies which transcend several nations at once have a rather special historical importance". He argued that this approach would ensure a cohesion and coherence that "seem appropriate in our postwar experience". Again using ''Europe Since Napoleon'' as an example, whose scope is Europe since 1815, Thomson points out a "necessary prologue" with four main phases since the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789. He listed the phases as "Revolution, War, Dictatorship, Empire" and sets out to show how each gave place to the next and how profound and permanent was their cumulative impact on later generations. Beginning with the situation in France in 1789, Thomson wrote of the paradox that no significant group wanted revolution, but it happened because of the other things that they wanted. Much had been made by previous historians of an assumed "revolutionary spirit" abroad in France that had been generated by ''philosophes'' such as

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

and

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...

. Thomson argued that a connection between their ideas and the revolution was remote and indirect. They did not preach revolution and were happy to be patronised by any aristocrat so willing. It was only later that their ideas and doctrines were used to justify revolutionary events. Instead, Thomson argued, what mattered in 1789 was a "revolutionary situation" that turned people into revolutionaries in spite of themselves. The ''philosophes'' played no part in the creation of this situation which came about essentially because the King, and thereby the entire French State, was in dire financial straits. The state of the economy, not philosophical belief, caused the French Revolution.Thomson, ''Europe Since Napoleon'', pp.24–25.

Bibliography

* ''Personality and politics'' * ''The Democratic ideal in France and England'' (1940) * ''England in the 19th Century 1815-1914'' (1951
online
* ''Personality and politics'' * ''The Democratic ideal in France and England'' * ''England in the 20th Century 1914-1963'' (1965) * ''Europe Since Napoleon'' (Longmans, 1957)

References

External links

WorldCat Identities – most widely held works by David Thomson and their library distribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, David Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Fellows of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Masters of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge 1970 deaths 1912 births 20th-century Scottish historians 20th-century Scottish male writers Members of the University of Cambridge faculty of history People educated at Sir George Monoux College Academics from Edinburgh Historians of Europe