D.G.E. Hall
Encyclopedia
Daniel George Edward Hall (1891-1979) was a British historian
, author, and academic. He wrote extensively on the history of Burma. His most notable work is A History of Southeast Asia, said to "...remain the most important single history of the region, providing encyclopedic coverage of material published up to the time of its 1981 revision." He held professorships in Southeast Asian history at both Cornell University
and the University of London
- where he eventually became professor emeritus.
, England
. His early education was at Hitchin Grammar School
. He entered the Department of History in King's College London
in 1913 and graduated in 1916 with a first-class honors degree in Modern History, winning the Gladstone Memorial Prize. Hall also won an Inglis Studentship that allowed him to gain a Masters Degree from the University of London
with a thesis on mercantile aspects of English foreign policy during the reign of Charles II
. During the First World War Hall served in the army with Inns of Court Regiment
, and also toured the Western Front
with the Lena Ashworth concert party.
. Later that year Hall married Helen Eugenie Banks (who, two years his junior at King's College, had also been awarded the Gladstone Memorial Prize) and began teaching history at Bedales School
, Hampshire.
While at Bedales School
Hall was offered the position of chair of history at the recently founded University of Rangoon. Upon his arrived in Rangoon in May 1921, Hall was faced with a history syllabus was that was unsuited to the new university, being focussed on classical Greece, Rome and modern European history. His initial task therefore was to create courses and provide textbooks that were relevant to the needs of his Burmese students. It was while engaged in this task, and developing the local history content of the syllabus, that Hall became interested in Burmese culture and Asian studies. However his full-scale pursuit of these interests had to wait until he had completed the task of developing and teaching the Western history syllabus of the university.
Thus it was not until 1927 that the first results of Hall's research into Anglo-Burmese relations was published with his paper “English Relations with Burma, 1587-1686" published in the Journal of the Burma Research Society
, 1927. The completion of further research, including The Dalhousie-Phayre Correspondence, led to Hall being awarded a degree of Doctor of Literature by the University of London.
In 1934 Hall was forced to resign his chair in Rangoon and return to England due to his family having developed trachoma
, which made it impossible for them to remain in the tropics. Upon his return to England Hall took up the position of Headmaster of Caterham School
in Surrey
. Hall left Caterham in 1949 when he was appointed chair of the History of South East Asia department at the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies
. It was while at SOAS that Hall published his History of South-East Asia (1955), the center-piece of his work. In September 1959 Hall retired from the University of London and took up a visiting professor position at Cornell University
. After retiring from Cornell and returning to England in 1973, Hall published his biography of Henry Burney in 1975.
Hall died on 12 October 1979.
1925: A Brief Survey of English Constitutional History London: Harrap.
1927: English Relations with Burma, 1587-1686 Journal of the Burma Research Society
1928: Early English Intercourse With Burma, 1587-1743 Rangoon University Publications
1935: A High School British History, 1714–1930, for Burma, India and the East Oxford University Press
1945: Europe and Burma: A study of European Relations with Burma to the Annexation of Thibaw's Kingdom,1886 London: Oxford University Press
1950: Burma London: Hutchinson's University Library
1955: A History of Southeast Asia London: Macmillan Limited
1955: Michael Symes, Journal of his Second Embassy to the Court of Ava in 1802 London: George Allen and Unwin
1974: Henry Burney: A Political Biography London: Oxford University Press
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 race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, author, and academic. He wrote extensively on the history of Burma. His most notable work is A History of Southeast Asia, said to "...remain the most important single history of the region, providing encyclopedic coverage of material published up to the time of its 1981 revision." He held professorships in Southeast Asian history at both Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
- where he eventually became professor emeritus.
Early life
Daniel George Edward Hall was born on November 17, 1891 into a farming family in HertfordshireHertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. His early education was at Hitchin Grammar School
Hitchin Boys' School
Hitchin Boys' School is a specialist technology and language college in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England. It educates boys aged between 11 and 18. The school currently has around 1000 pupils...
. He entered the Department of History in King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
in 1913 and graduated in 1916 with a first-class honors degree in Modern History, winning the Gladstone Memorial Prize. Hall also won an Inglis Studentship that allowed him to gain a Masters Degree from the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
with a thesis on mercantile aspects of English foreign policy during the reign of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
. During the First World War Hall served in the army with Inns of Court Regiment
Inns of Court Regiment
The Inns of Court Regiment was a British Army regiment which existed under that name between May 1932 and May 1961. However, the unit traces its lineage back much further, to at least 1584, and its name lives on within The Inns of Court & City and Essex Yeomanry .-History:The first organised...
, and also toured the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
with the Lena Ashworth concert party.
Career
In early 1919 Hall obtained a position as senior history master at Royal Grammar School, WorcesterRoyal Grammar School Worcester
The Royal Grammar School Worcester is an independent coeducational school in Worcester, United Kingdom. Founded before 1291, it is one of the oldest British independent schools....
. Later that year Hall married Helen Eugenie Banks (who, two years his junior at King's College, had also been awarded the Gladstone Memorial Prize) and began teaching history at Bedales School
Bedales School
Bedales School is a co-educational independent school situated in Hampshire, in the south east of England. Founded in 1893 by John Haden Badley in reaction to the limitations of conventional Victorian schools, today the school is one of the most expensive in the UK, charging £9,985 per term for a...
, Hampshire.
While at Bedales School
Bedales School
Bedales School is a co-educational independent school situated in Hampshire, in the south east of England. Founded in 1893 by John Haden Badley in reaction to the limitations of conventional Victorian schools, today the school is one of the most expensive in the UK, charging £9,985 per term for a...
Hall was offered the position of chair of history at the recently founded University of Rangoon. Upon his arrived in Rangoon in May 1921, Hall was faced with a history syllabus was that was unsuited to the new university, being focussed on classical Greece, Rome and modern European history. His initial task therefore was to create courses and provide textbooks that were relevant to the needs of his Burmese students. It was while engaged in this task, and developing the local history content of the syllabus, that Hall became interested in Burmese culture and Asian studies. However his full-scale pursuit of these interests had to wait until he had completed the task of developing and teaching the Western history syllabus of the university.
Thus it was not until 1927 that the first results of Hall's research into Anglo-Burmese relations was published with his paper “English Relations with Burma, 1587-1686" published in the Journal of the Burma Research Society
Burma Research Society
The Burma Research Society was founded on 29 March 1910 at a meeting held at the Bernard Free Library in Rangoon by J S Furnivall, J A Stewart, Gordon H Luce and Pe Maung Tin....
, 1927. The completion of further research, including The Dalhousie-Phayre Correspondence, led to Hall being awarded a degree of Doctor of Literature by the University of London.
In 1934 Hall was forced to resign his chair in Rangoon and return to England due to his family having developed trachoma
Trachoma
Trachoma is an infectious disease causing a characteristic roughening of the inner surface of the eyelids. Also called granular conjunctivitis and Egyptian ophthalmia, it is the leading cause of infectious blindness in the world...
, which made it impossible for them to remain in the tropics. Upon his return to England Hall took up the position of Headmaster of Caterham School
Caterham School
Caterham School is an independent coeducational day and boarding school in Caterham, Surrey and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.-History:...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. Hall left Caterham in 1949 when he was appointed chair of the History of South East Asia department at the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
. It was while at SOAS that Hall published his History of South-East Asia (1955), the center-piece of his work. In September 1959 Hall retired from the University of London and took up a visiting professor position at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. After retiring from Cornell and returning to England in 1973, Hall published his biography of Henry Burney in 1975.
Hall died on 12 October 1979.
Books and Publications
1922: A Professorship of Far Eastern History JBRS1925: A Brief Survey of English Constitutional History London: Harrap.
1927: English Relations with Burma, 1587-1686 Journal of the Burma Research Society
Burma Research Society
The Burma Research Society was founded on 29 March 1910 at a meeting held at the Bernard Free Library in Rangoon by J S Furnivall, J A Stewart, Gordon H Luce and Pe Maung Tin....
1928: Early English Intercourse With Burma, 1587-1743 Rangoon University Publications
1935: A High School British History, 1714–1930, for Burma, India and the East Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
1945: Europe and Burma: A study of European Relations with Burma to the Annexation of Thibaw's Kingdom,1886 London: Oxford University Press
1950: Burma London: Hutchinson's University Library
1955: A History of Southeast Asia London: Macmillan Limited
1955: Michael Symes, Journal of his Second Embassy to the Court of Ava in 1802 London: George Allen and Unwin
Allen & Unwin
Allen & Unwin, formerly a major British publishing house, is now an independent book publisher and distributor based in Australia. The Australian directors have been the sole owners of the Allen & Unwin name since effecting a management buy out at the time the UK parent company, Unwin Hyman, was...
1974: Henry Burney: A Political Biography London: Oxford University Press