Norman Davis (16 May 1913 – 2 December 1989) was a New Zealand-born professor of English language and literature at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

Early life and career

Davis was born in 1913 at

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, New Zealand. He received his education at

Otago Boys' High School Otago Boys' High School (OBHS) is a secondary school in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is one of New Zealand's oldest boys' secondary schools. Originally known as Dunedin High School, it was founded on 3 August 1863 and moved to its present site in 18 ...

and the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

, where he was taught by Professor Herbert Ramsay. He was awarded a

Rhodes scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

, in 1934 and studied comparative philology. From 1937 to 1938, he lectured in English at the

University of Kaunas Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) (, VDU) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university. Initially it was known as the University of Lithuania, but ...

in Lithuania, and then at the

University of Sofia Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" () is a public research university in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is the oldest institution of higher education in Bulgaria. Founded on 1 October 1888, the edifice of the university was constructed between 1924 ...

, Bulgaria, 1938–39.

Second World War

According to his biographer James McNeish, Davis was "undistinguished in appearance" and had a talent for mimicry. When the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

broke out, he was recruited by the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

and became Assistant Press Attaché at the British Legation in Sofia. In 1941, he warned the British ambassador in Sofia,

George William Rendel Sir George William Rendel (23 February 1889 – 6 May 1979) was a British diplomat.Eid Al Yahya, ''Travellers in Arabia'', (Stacey International, 2006). Early life and education Rendel, the son of the engineer George Wightwick Rendel was educ ...

, of Bulgaria's imminent admission to the

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

. He smuggled the leader of the Bulgarian resistance,

G. M. Dimitrov Georgi Mihov Dimitrov (; 15 April 1903 – 21 November 1972), known as Gemeto () to distinguish him from Georgi Dimitrov, Georgi Dimitrov Mihaylov, was a Bulgarian politician, a leading figure of the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union during t ...

, out of Bulgaria to the safety of the British Legation in Turkey (January–February 1941). Davis was trying to escape from Yugoslavia when he was captured by the Italians and interned in Italy for three months, before being repatriated to England. He continued his clandestine work, operating out of Turkey under an assumed name. His wife Lena was also "in the firm". Davis and Dimitrov were tried in Sofia for subversion and sentenced ''in absentia'' to execution by hanging. At the end of the war, Davis had reached the rank of major, and in 1945 he was awarded an MBE.

Post-war academic career

Davis resumed his university teaching as a lecturer in English language at

Queen Mary College Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of London. Today, ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, in 1946, having proceeded to MA at Oxford in 1944. He was then appointed to a similar position at Oriel and

Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

s, Oxford, where he also lectured in Medieval English. From 1949 to 1959, he taught at

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

. He then succeeded

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

Merton Professor of English Language and Literature There are two Merton Professorships of English in the University of Oxford: the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature, and the Merton Professor of English Literature. The second was created in 1914 when Sir Walter Raleigh's chair was ...

at Oxford, a position he held until his retirement in 1980. According to McNeish,"... he liked to say that his achievement was that he "added a letter to the Bulgarian alphabet", but his monument is the great edition of the ''

Paston Letters The ''Paston Letters'' are a collection of correspondence between members of the Paston family of Norfolk gentry and others connected with them in England between the years 1422 and 1509. The collection also includes state papers and other impo ...

'', "a text throwing light on the attitudes of a 15th-century English family in Norfolk on the make."

Death

Davis died in Oxford on 2 December 1989. Practically his entire estate was left to the University of Otago. According to McNeish, the proper use of the funds was contested by his executor, as Otago's University Council decided to use them to fund visiting academics, rather than for sending New Zealand scholars to benefit from study at Oxford.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Norman 1913 births 1989 deaths Merton Professors of English Language and Literature Fellows of the British Academy Members of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand Rhodes Scholars Fellows of Merton College, Oxford Academic staff of the Kaunas University of Technology Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Alumni of Merton College, Oxford New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom People educated at Otago Boys' High School Academic staff of Sofia University