Peter Davison | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1926-09-10)10 September 1926 Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
| Died | 16 August 2022(2022-08-16) (aged 95) Swindon, England |
| Occupation |
|
| Subjects | George Orwell |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
Peter Hobley DavisonOBE (10 September 1926 – 16 August 2022) was a British professor of English and an authority on the life and works ofGeorge Orwell.[1]
Born inNewcastle upon Tyne on 10 September 1926,[2] he worked in theCrown Film Unit and served in the Navy during the Second World War. He gained his bachelor's degree through correspondence and also had a master's degree in bibliography andpalaeography.[3]
After some time as a Fellow at theShakespeare Institute, a lecturer at theUniversity of Sydney, and as lecturer and senior lecturer atBirmingham University, he was appointed Professor of English at Saint David's University College (laterUniversity of Wales Trinity Saint David) and then at the University of Kent andDe Montfort University, Leicester.[3][4] He was later anemeritus professor of English atGlyndŵr University.
In 1992, he was president of theBibliographical Society[5] and edited its journal,The Library, for 12 years. He received the Society's Gold Medal in 2003.[6] From 1991 to 2005 he was Secretary of theEconomic and Social Research Council in London. Between 1986 and 1998 he was also Honorary Steward ofWestminster Abbey.[7]
In 1998, assisted by his wife, Sheila Davison, andIan Angus[8] he edited the 20-volumeThe Complete Works of George Orwell (Secker & Warburg, 1998).[9]
In 2012 Davison announced the launch ofThe Orwell Society[10] and was made an honorary founding member the following year. In 2013, he edited Orwell'sDiaries[11][12] andOrwell: A Life in Letters.[13]
Davison married Sheila Bethel in 1949. They had three children and remained together until her death in 2017.[14] He died at a hospital inSwindon on 16 August 2022, at the age of 95.[14][15]
In 2004 Davison donated his archive toUniversity College London.[16] The collection includes material relating to his books, correspondence with publishers, and photocopies of Orwell's work which have been annotated by Davison.[16]
