Neville Meaney (July 2, 1932, Adelaide – May 30, 2021) was a noted historian of Australia, considered among the "foremost thinkers in the field of foreign and defence policy history" with a special focus on the early twentieth century and questions of Australia's cultural and geopolitical place in the world. Born in Adelaide, Neville Meaney was the first Australian historian to be awarded an American PhD, at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

. Returning to Australia in 1959, he taught first at

UNSW The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public university, public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, ...

before moving to the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

in 1962, remaining there for the rest of his career. His monograph ''Australia and the World'' (1985) is considered a "comprehensive documentary history of Australia’s relations with the world of nations." Later works continued to consider Australia's place in the world, including as regarded the rising importance of Asia. A

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

in his honour was published in 2013, recognising (in the words of

Dennis Richardson (diplomat) Dennis James Richardson, (born 14 May 1947) is an Australian retired public servant and diplomat who served as the Secretary of the Department of Defence from 2012 to 2017 and Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2012. ...

) his "major contribution...to the development and evolution of Australian and American foreign relations history in this country ustralia"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meaney, Neville Australian historians Historians of Australia 1932 births 2021 deaths