Donald Henshaw Pennington (15 June 1919 – 28 December 2007) was a historian of 17th-century England. He taught at

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and Oxford universities, becoming a tutor at

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 ...

in 1965. Donald was born in

Marple, Greater Manchester Marple is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is on the River Goyt, south-east of Manchester, north of Macclesfield and south-east of Stockport. At the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 census, the ...

, near Stockport.and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008, Vol. 8A, Page 4, Line 4."
Retrieved 27 March 2020. His father, Frederick Pennington, was the Headmaster of the Albert Schools in Marple when Donald was born. His mother Gladys (nee Prentice) also taught at Marple School. Donald's mother was a sister of Frederick's first wife, Clara Prentice. Frederick and Clara Prentice were married on 3 August 1905 at Marple, however, Clara died in 1915. Donald's parents were then married in Marple on 30 August 1918. By 1931 his father had become Headmaster of the Willows School. On the 23 1955 he spoke on a forty five minute radio broadcast programme with

Veronica Wedgwood Dame Cicely Veronica Wedgwood, (20 July 1910 – 9 March 1997) was an English historian who published under the name C. V. Wedgwood. Specializing in the history of 17th-century England and continental Europe, her biographies and narrative hist ...

and

Hugh Trevor-Roper Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, (15 January 1914 – 26 January 2003) was an English historian. He was Regius Professor of Modern History (Oxford), Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford. Trevor-Rope ...

, about the causes of the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. There was a follow-up programme broadcast four days later.CAUSES OF THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR:2.Differences of Method."
Third Programme. 27 March 1955. ''Radio Times'', Issue 1637. p.13: BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 27 March 2020.

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

also consulted Donald about the origins of the English Civil War. He was rewarded with signed copies of the first two volumes of Churchill's ''

A History of the English-Speaking Peoples ''A History of the English-Speaking Peoples'' is a four-volume history of Britain and its former colonies and possessions throughout the world, written by Winston Churchill, covering the period from Caesar's invasions of Britain (55 BC) to the e ...

''. In 1956 Donald was actively engaged in the work of the National Committee for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons Tests which was a precursor of the CND.''Donald Pennington''. John Prest. He became a founding member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament ( CND) and was involved with that organisation from the outset. Donald served as the north-west regional secretary, and a member of the national executive.Pennington: Leading English historian and founder member of CND."
''The Guardian.'' Martin Kettle, 21 February 2008. Retrieved 27 March 2020. His works include ''Europe in the Seventeenth Century'', ''Members of the Long Parliament'' (with D. Bruton) and ''Puritans and Revolutionaries, Essays Presented to Christopher Hill'' (with Keith Thomas).

References

The Guardian newspaper 21 Feb 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennington, D. H. 1919 births 2007 deaths British anti–nuclear weapons activists Academics of the University of Manchester Fellows of Balliol College, Oxford British male writers 20th-century British historians British male non-fiction writers Historians of the University of Oxford