Peter Ritchie Ritchie-Calder, Baron Ritchie-Calder (; 1 July 1906 – 31 January 1982), was a Scottish socialist writer, journalist and academic.

Early life

Peter Ritchie Calder was born on 1 July 1906 in

Forfar Forfar (; , ) is the county town of Angus, Scotland, and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million-pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town had a population of 16,280. The town ...

, Scotland, the youngest of four children of David Lindsay Calder, a linen worker, and Georgina Ritchie, the daughter of a master mason. He was educated at Forfar Academy, leaving the school at the age of 16.

Career

Calder first worked as a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, where he became noted as a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and peace activist; as science editor of the '' News Chronicle'', he wrote under the name of 'Ritchie Calder'. After moving to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

before

World War II 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 ...

, he accepted an appointment as the director of plans and campaigns at the Political Warfare Executive branch of the Government, which was responsible for the allied war

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

effort. He wrote propaganda posters and leaflets and speeches for allied leaders. He was a member of the 1941 Committee, a group of liberal

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

s, writers and other people of influence in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. In 1941 he became popular with his book ''Carry on London'', which described the effects of the German bombardment of London,

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

and other cities in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. After the war Calder returned to his former activities as a writer and specialised in internationalism, the

peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

movement and in the

public understanding of science ''Public Understanding of Science'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1992 and published by SAGE Publications. It covers topics in the popular perception of science, the role of science in society, philosophy of scienc ...

. He worked also with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and was president of the National Peace Council and of the

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucl ...

. He also worked for the ''News Chronicle'' newspaper as science editor. Sir

Lawrence Bragg Sir William Lawrence Bragg (31 March 1890 – 1 July 1971) was an Australian-born British physicist who shared the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics with his father William Henry Bragg "for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by m ...

's original announcement of the discovery of the structure of

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

was made at a

Solvay conference The Solvay Conferences () have been devoted to preeminent unsolved problems in both physics and chemistry. They began with the historic invitation-only 1911 Solvay Conference on Physics, considered a turning point in the world of physics, and ar ...

on proteins in Belgium on 8 April 1953 but went unreported by the UK press. He then gave a talk at

Guy's Hospital Medical School King's College London GKT School of Medical Education (often referred to simply as GKT) is the medical school of King's College London. The school has campuses at three institutions, Guy's Hospital (Southwark), King's College Hospital ( Denma ...

in London on Thursday 14 May 1953, which resulted in an article by Ritchie Calder in the '' News Chronicle'' on Friday 15 May 1953, entitled "Why You Are You. Nearer Secret of Life". Calder was an ardent peace activist and

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

. In 1955, Calder recorded and released an album on Folkways Records entitled ''Science in Our Lives''. In 1980 he was one of the signatories of " A Secular Humanist Declaration", a statement of belief in democratic

secular humanism Secular humanism is a philosophy, belief system, or life stance that embraces human reason, logic, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism, while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basi ...

, issued by the Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism ("CODESH"), now the Council for Secular Humanism ("CSH"). He was also one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto. He was Montague Burton Professor of International Relations at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

from 1961 to 1967, and received the 1960 Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science. While employed at the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

, Calder was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the 1945 New Year Honours. He received a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

age in the 1966 Birthday Honours. With a change of his surname to ''Ritchie-Calder'', he was created ''Baron Ritchie-Calder, of Balmashanner in the Royal Burgh of

'' on 5 July 1966.

Personal life

Lord Ritchie-Calder and his wife Mabel Jane Forbes McKail had five children:

science writer Science journalism conveys reporting about science to the public. The field typically involves interactions between scientists, journalists and the public. Origins Modern science journalism originated in weather and other natural history obs ...

Nigel Calder Nigel David McKail Ritchie-Calder (2 December 1931 – 25 June 2014) was a British science writer and climate change skeptic. Early life Nigel Calder was born on 2 December 1931. His father was Ritchie Calder. His mother was Mabel Jane For ...

(1931-2014); writer and

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 ...

Angus Calder (1942-2008); mathematician Allan Calder (1944-2023); educationist Isla Calder (1946-2000) and teacher Fiona Rudd (née Calder). He was also the grandfather of travel writer Simon Calder and the actor, writer and comedienne Gowan Calder.

Death

Calder died on 31 January 1982, 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 ...

, Scotland.

Sources

*Trevor I. Williams, ‘Calder, Peter Ritchie, Baron Ritchie-Calder (1906–1982)’, rev. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 201
accessed 17 July 2013

Author and Bookinfo.Com

References

External links

Scottish Gazetteer.
''Science in Our Lives'' Album Details
at

Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was f ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calder, Ritchie 1906 births 1982 deaths Scottish anti-war activists Ritchie-Calder Members of the Fabian Society Scottish Congregationalists Scottish political journalists Scottish scholars and academics Scottish science writers Academics of the University of Edinburgh Scottish humanists People from Forfar Scottish socialists People educated at Forfar Academy Ritchie Kalinga Prize recipients 20th-century Scottish journalists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British propagandists