Eric William IvesOBE (12 July 1931 – 25 September 2012[1]) was a British historian who was an expert on theTudor period, and a university administrator. He was Emeritus Professor of English History at theUniversity of Birmingham.
Ives was born on 12 July 1931,Romford, Essex to aPlymouth Brethren family. He was educated atBrentwood School, then an all-boyspublic school inBrentwood, Essex. He studied history atQueen Mary College, London, graduating withBachelor of Arts (BA). He then went on to complete hisDoctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the same university under the direction ofST Bindoff.[2][3]
On 24 November 1955, as part ofnational service, he was commissioned into the Education Branch of theRoyal Air Force as apilot officer. He was given theservice number 2766509.[4] He was promoted toflying officer on 24 November 1956,[5] and toflight lieutenant on 24 May 1957.[6]
Following his two-year nation service, he worked for a short time with theHistory of Parliament Trust as aresearch assistant. The next four years were spent as aFellow at theUniversity of Birmingham'sShakespeare Institute,Stratford-upon-Avon. From 1961, he was a lecturer in Modern History at theUniversity of Liverpool. In 1967, he returned to the University of Birmingham as a history lecturer. In 1987, he was appointed Professor of English History and Dean of the Faculty of Arts, a position he retained until his retirement in 1997. From 1989 until 1993 he was alsopro-vice-chancellor, an important position in the overall running of the university. He was head of the Modern History department from 1994 until 1997.[2]
He was particularly noted for his work on the life ofAnne Boleyn, the second wife and queen of KingHenry VIII of England. His theories on her life drew him into fierce debate with the American historianRetha Warnicke, who wroteThe Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn in 1989 to challenge Ives's findings. He began researching Anne Boleyn about 1979, publishing the results in 1986. The biography,Anne Boleyn, was modified and expanded for re-publication in 2004 under the new title ofThe Life and Death of Anne Boleyn.[2] In 2009, he published a study ofLady Jane Grey and the circumstances of her accession and downfall.
He also wrote extensively on theHistory of Law and the development of modernhigher education. His biographical writing on Tudor courtiers covers the Welsh land-owning magnateWilliam Brereton, who was unjustly condemned to death in 1536 on the false charge of being Anne Boleyn's lover. In 2000 the University of Birmingham Press publishedThe First Civic University: Birmingham, 1880–1980 – An Introductory History, which he co-wrote with Diane K. Drummond and Leonard Schwarz.
Ives converted to Methodism and then Baptism. In 1961, he married his wife Ruth, with whom he had two children. They lived in Warwick and Stratford-upon-Avon. He sang as a tenor in a choir.[7]
In 2001 he was awarded theOrder of the British Empire in theNew Year Honours in recognition of his services to history.[8]
