G. Kitson Clark
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George Sidney Roberts Kitson Clark (14 June 1900 – 8 December 1975) was an English historian, specialising in the nineteenth century. He was a
fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
of
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
from 1922 to 1975, and additionally held the title of Reader in Constitutional History in the
Faculty of History, University of Cambridge The Faculty of History is one of the constituent departments of the University of Cambridge. Teaching and research of history has centuries old roots at Cambridge and the first Regius Professorship of Modern History was established by King Geo ...
between 1954 and 1967.


Early life and education

George Kitson Clark born on born on 14 June 1900 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. He was the son of the engineer Edwin Kitson Clark (1866-1943) who began his engineering training with a three year pupilage which he served at the Airedale Foundry of Messrs. Kitson from 1888-1891, later becoming a partner and chairman of the firm. George's sister was
Mary Kitson Clark Anna Mary Hawthorn Kitson Clark, (14 May 1905 – 1 February 2005), married name Mary Chitty, was an English archaeologist, curator, and independent scholar. She specialised in the archaeology of Romano-British Northern England but was also inv ...
. His paternal grandfather was E. C. Clark, Regius Professor of Civil Law at the University of Cambridge. While growing up, he lived in
Meanwood Meanwood is a suburb and former village in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits in the Moortown ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency. Origins and history The name Meanwood goes back ...
, village to the north of Leeds that would be one of its suburbs. George Kitson Clark was educated at
Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...
, then an all boys public school (i.e. an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
boarding school) in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. In 1919, he
matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...
into
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
to study the
Historical Tripos The Faculty of History is one of the constituent departments of the University of Cambridge. Teaching and research of history has centuries old roots at Cambridge and the first Regius Professorship of Modern History was established by King Geo ...
, having been awarded an
exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...
. He achieved a lower second class in Part I of the
Tripos TRIPOS (''TRIvial Portable Operating System'') is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of Cambridge University and it was headed by Dr. Martin Richards. The first version appeared in January 1978 a ...
, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1921 having achieved
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 Part II.


Academic career

He lived the life of a bachelor
don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a village and hill station in Dang district, Gu ...
as a
fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
of Trinity College, Cambridge, his ''alma mater'', from 1922 to 1975. He became a
research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...
of his college in 1922 and a college lecturer in 1928. He was additionally a lecturer in the
Faculty of History, University of Cambridge The Faculty of History is one of the constituent departments of the University of Cambridge. Teaching and research of history has centuries old roots at Cambridge and the first Regius Professorship of Modern History was established by King Geo ...
from 1929 and was Reader in Constitutional History from 1954 to 1967. He was disappointed to never hold a university
professorial chair Academic ranks in the United Kingdom are the titles, relative seniority and responsibility of employees in universities. In general the country has three academic career pathways: one focused on research, one on teaching, and one that combines ...
or to reach the senior leadership of his college. He is known as a revisionist historian of the Repeal of the Corn Laws.
G. D. H. Cole George Douglas Howard Cole (25 September 1889 – 14 January 1959) was an English political theorist, economist, historian, and novelist. As a believer in common ownership of the means of production, he theorised guild socialism (production ...
identified a "Kitson Clark" school of historians revising the assessment of the Anti-Corn Law League and the
Chartists Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of ...
. He delivered the
Ford Lectures The Ford Lectures or the James Ford Lectures in British History, are an annual series of public lectures held at the University of Oxford on the subject of English or British history. They are usually devoted to a particular historical theme an ...
in 1959–60, speaking on "The Making of Victorian England". Jack Plumb, who disliked Kitson Clark, describes him as a reformer of the History Tripos and obstacle to
Lewis Namier Sir Lewis Bernstein Namier (; 27 June 1888 – 19 August 1960) was a British historian of Polish-Jewish background. His best-known works were '' The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III'' (1929), ''England in the Age of the Ame ...
, with various swipes. He served as chair of the Faculty Board of History from 1956 to 1958. Also he was a conservative in most of his views, he "played a prominent part" in enlarging the Historical Tripos syllabus to include
American history The history of the present-day United States began in roughly 15,000 BC with the arrival of Peopling of the Americas, the first people in the Americas. In the late 15th century, European colonization of the Americas, European colonization beg ...
and the history of the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
. In 1975, he was elected as a foreign honorary member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
. He died the same year, on 8 December 1975 at his college in Cambridge.


Selected works

*''Peel and the Conservative Party: a Study in Party Politics, 1832–41'' (1929; 1st ed.) *''Guide for Research Students Working on Historical Subjects'' (1958) *''Making of Victorian England'' (1962) *''Peel and the Conservative Party'' (1964; 2nd ed.) *''An Expanding Society: Britain 1830–1900'' (1967) *''The Critical Historian'' (1967) *''Churchmen and the Condition of England 1832–1885'' (1973) *''Portrait of an Age'' (1977) editor


References

*Robert Robson (editor) (1967), ''Ideas and Institutions of Victorian Britain: Essays in honour of George Kitson Clark''


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitson Clark, George 1900 births 1975 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge 20th-century English historians People from Meanwood People educated at Shrewsbury School