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Keith Hancock | |
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| Born | William Keith Hancock (1898-06-26)26 June 1898 |
| Died | 13 August 1988(1988-08-13) (aged 90) Canberra,Australian Capital Territory, Australia |
| Other names | W. K. Hancock |
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| Spouses | |
| Parent | William Hancock (father) |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Melbourne Grammar School |
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| Main interests | Modern history (British history,Australian history),economic history,anglicanism |
Sir William Keith Hancock, KBE, FBAOMNI (26 June 1898 – 13 August 1988), also known asW. K. Hancock, was a prominent Australian historian and academic. Hancock was anAnglican and keen admirer of theBritish Empire.
He was born on 26 June 1898, inMelbourne,Colony of Victoria, the son of ArchdeaconWilliam Hancock. At age nine, he won theRoyal Humane Society's medal for rescuing another child from drowning in theMitchell River. He was educated atMelbourne Grammar School and later theUniversity of Melbourne where he was resident atTrinity College from 1917, winning the Perry Scholarship, Trinity's most prestigious award.[1] Too young to see service inWorld War I without permission from his parents, it was said that he always felt shame about the fact he could not fight.
As the Australia-at-largeRhodes Scholar for 1921, Hancock went toBalliol College,Oxford in 1922. He graduated in 1924 with aBachelor of Arts with first class honours inModern History. He was the first Australian to gain a Fellowship ofAll Souls College, Oxford in 1923.
He was Professor of Modern History at theUniversity of Adelaide between 1924 and 1933. On his appointment he was aged only 25, the youngest professor in the British Commonwealth, and one who had held no previous teaching post.[2] In 1930 he publishedAustralia, a book which was well received and notable for its ironic tone, particularly in criticism of Australian institutions such astariff protection, was highly influential, and is frequently quoted even today.
From 1934 to 1944 Hancock was the Professor of History atUniversity of Birmingham and during this war period was also appointed to theWar Cabinet Offices. HisSurvey of British Commonwealth Affairs was published in three volumes in 1937–42. In 1941 he was appointed Supervisor of the United Kingdom Civil Series of theHistory of the Second World War and was thereafter editor of the series. In 1943, he publishedArgument of Empire, he defended the British Empire.[3]
In 1949, withMargaret Gowing, he wroteThe British War Economy, the introductory volume to that series. Between 1944 and 1949, he returned to Oxford, becomingChichele Professor ofEconomic History. During the War he also played a role inCivil Defence, serving as afirewatcher. He was knighted in 1953, partially for his services in writing and editing the histories.
In 1949 he left Oxford, taking up an appointment as the Director of theInstitute of Commonwealth Studies. He served as the Professor of British Commonwealth Affairs at theUniversity of London until 1956. During this period he was sent as a government expert to examine constitutional questions inUganda in 1954, at the height of theKabaka crisis. At this time he began work on his authoritativebiography of theSouth African Prime MinisterJan Smuts, which appeared in two volumes in 1962 and 1968, and editing for publication, withJean van der Poel, the first four volumes of the Smuts papers.
Hancock returned to Australia in 1957 to take up an appointment as Director of the Research School of Social Sciences at theAustralian National University, a position he held until 1961. He was Professor of History at theInstitute of Advanced Studies, ANU until his retirement in 1965. On his retirement he was madeEmeritus Professor (1968) and created the first UniversityFellow of the ANU. Other positions he held were Chairman of the Editorial Board of theAustralian Dictionary of Biography from 1958 to 1965 and inaugural President of theAustralian Academy of the Humanities from 1969 to 1971.
In 1961, Hancock was appointed to theOrder of Merit of the Italian Republic.[2] In his honour, a library of science resources at the ANU was named after him.
Hancock retired in 1965, having been appointedKnight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 1965 New Year's Honours.[4] In his later years, he moved south ofCanberra, becoming a firm supporter of environmental politics. He disliked American bases on Australian soil, and he was a very prominent but ultimately unsuccessful opponent of the construction ofBlack Mountain Tower in Canberra. He died on 13 August 1988, aged 90, inCanberra.
