Denis Mack Smith
Encyclopedia
Denis Mack Smith CBE
(born 3 March 1920 in London
) is an English
historian
, specialising in the history of Italy
from the Risorgimento onwards. He is best known for studies of Garibaldi
and Cavour and of Mussolini
, and for his single-volume Modern Italy: A Political History. He was named Grand Official of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
in 1996.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 3 March 1920 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) is an English
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...
historian
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...
, specialising in the history of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
from the Risorgimento onwards. He is best known for studies of Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
and Cavour and of Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
, and for his single-volume Modern Italy: A Political History. He was named Grand Official of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Italian orders of merit
There are five orders of knighthood awarded in recognition of service to the Italian Republic. Below these sit a number of other decorations, associated and otherwise, that do not confer knighthoods...
in 1996.
Further reading
- The Art of Denis Mack Smith, Jonathan Steinberg, London Review of Books, 23 May 1985
- The Great Pretender, A J P Taylor, The New York Review of Books, August 5, 1976
- Society and Politics in the Age of the Risorgimento: Essays in honour of Denis Mack Smith, John A. Davis & Paul Ginsborg (eds.), Cambridge University Press, 1991 (ISBN 0521-365929)