Roy Ian Douglas (December 1924 – 11 December 2020) was a British author, academic and political activist. Douglas was educated at Rutlish School in Morden, and joined the Liberal Party when he was sixteen. He studied at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, and while there served as chair of its Liberal Association. He later served as president, and then as chair, of the National League of Young Liberals, and completed a doctorate at the University of Edinburgh. In 1953 he was a Liberal candidate for East ward in the Bethnal Green Metropolitan Borough Council elections. He became a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

in 1956 with Gray's Inn. He stood for the Liberal Party at numerous Parliamentary elections: in Merton and Morden in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

, Bethnal Green in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

and

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

, and Gainsborough in

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

and

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

. By this time, he was serving on the council of the Liberal Party. In the run-up to the

1975 United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum The United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum, also known variously as the Referendum on the European Community (Common Market), the Common Market referendum and EEC membership referendum, took place under the provisions of the R ...

, Douglas chaired the Liberal "No to the Common Market" Campaign. Douglas later became a lecturer in biology at the

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institut ...

. He wrote numerous books, including ''Surrey: The Rise of a Modern University'' and ''The History of the Liberal Party 1895-1970''. He died in December 2020, shortly before his 96th birthday.Roy Douglas 1924-2020
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References

1924 births 2020 deaths Academics of the University of Surrey Alumni of King's College London Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Members of Gray's Inn People educated at Rutlish School People from Morden {{UK-academic-bio-stub