Max Beloff, Baron Beloff
Encyclopedia
Max Beloff, Baron Beloff (2 July 1913 – 22 March 1999) was a British historian and Conservative
peer
. From 1974 to 1979 he was principal of the University College of Buckingham, now the University of Buckingham
.
, London
and was the oldest child of a Jewish family who had moved to England
in 1903 from Russia
. He was the elder son in a family of five children of merchant Simon Beloff and his wife Marie. His sister Anne would later marry German-born Nobel Prize winning
biochemist
Ernst Boris Chain
in 1948. The young Beloff was educated at St Paul's School, and then studied Modern History
at Corpus Christi College, Oxford
where he graduated with first-class honours. (Scholar; MA; Honorary Fellow, 1993).
once at university, before becoming a liberal
after the Second World War. In the debate about educational standards in the 1960s he found the Labour
government hostile to his idea of a university outside the state-financed framework, and felt the Liberals
were 'moving increasingly to the left
. This inclined him to join the Conservative Party upon his retirement in 1979.
He became governor of the University of Haifa
, and was elevated to a life peerage with the title Baron Beloff, of Wolvercote in the County of Oxfordshire
in 1981. After his death the University of Buckingham established 'The Max Beloff Centre for the Study of Liberty' in January 2005.
Works edited by Beloff include:
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
. From 1974 to 1979 he was principal of the University College of Buckingham, now the University of Buckingham
University of Buckingham
The University of Buckingham is an independent, non-sectarian, research and teaching university located in Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Great Ouse. It was originally founded as Buckingham University College in the 1970s and received its Royal Charter from the...
.
Early life
Beloff was born on 2 July 1913 at 21 York House, Fieldway Crescent, IslingtonIslington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, 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...
and was the oldest child of a Jewish family who had moved to 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...
in 1903 from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. He was the elder son in a family of five children of merchant Simon Beloff and his wife Marie. His sister Anne would later marry German-born Nobel Prize winning
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
biochemist
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
Ernst Boris Chain
Ernst Boris Chain
Sir Ernst Boris Chain was a German-born British biochemist, and a 1945 co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his work on penicillin.-Biography:...
in 1948. The young Beloff was educated at St Paul's School, and then studied Modern History
Modern history
Modern history, or the modern era, describes the historical timeline after the Middle Ages. Modern history can be further broken down into the early modern period and the late modern period after the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution...
at Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom...
where he graduated with first-class honours. (Scholar; MA; Honorary Fellow, 1993).
Political views
In his 1992 autobiographical work An Historian in the Twentieth Century Beloff discusses his political journey. He had been at school a Conservative, and was then attracted to socialismSocialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
once at university, before becoming a liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
after the Second World War. In the debate about educational standards in the 1960s he found the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
government hostile to his idea of a university outside the state-financed framework, and felt the Liberals
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
were 'moving increasingly to the left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
. This inclined him to join the Conservative Party upon his retirement in 1979.
Career
- Junior Research Fellow, Corpus Christi College, 1937
- Assistant Lecturer in History, Manchester University, 1939–46
- World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
service: Royal Corps of SignalsRoyal Corps of SignalsThe Royal Corps of Signals is one of the combat support arms of the British Army...
, 1940-41.
- World War II
- Nuffield Reader in Comparative Study of Institutions, Oxford University, 1946–56
- Fellow of Nuffield College, OxfordNuffield College, OxfordNuffield College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is an all-graduate college and primarily a research establishment, specialising in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. It is a research centre in the social sciences...
, 1947–57 - GladstoneWilliam Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
Professor of Government and Public Administration, Oxford University, 1957–74, then Professor Emeritus - Fellow, All Souls College, OxfordAll Souls College, OxfordThe Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....
, 1957–74, Emeritus Fellow, 1980–99 - Supernumerary Fellow, St. Antony's College, Oxford, 1975–84
- Principal, University College of Buckingham, 1974–79
- Honorary Professor, St. Andrews University, 1993-98.
He became governor of the University of Haifa
University of Haifa
The University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
, and was elevated to a life peerage with the title Baron Beloff, of Wolvercote in the County of Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
in 1981. After his death the University of Buckingham established 'The Max Beloff Centre for the Study of Liberty' in January 2005.
Works
- Public order and popular disturbances 1660-1714 (1938).
- The Foreign Policy of Soviet Russia 1929-41 (2 volumes) (1947/1949).
- Thomas Jefferson and American Democracy (1948).
- Soviet Policy in the Far East, 1944-51 (1953).
- The Age of Absolutism, 1660-1815 (1954).
- Foreign Policy and the Democratic Press (1955).
- Europe and the Europeans (1957).
- The Great Powers (1959).
- New Dimensions in Foreign Policy (1961).
- The United States and the Unity of Europe (1963).
- The Balance of Power (1968).
- Imperial Sunset-Volume 1: Britain’s Liberal Empire 1897-1921 (1969).
- The American Federal Government (1969).
- The Future of British Foreign Policy (1969).
- The Intellectual in Politics (1970).
- The Tide of Collectivism- Can it be Turned? (1978).
- The State and its servants (1979).
- The Government of the United Kingdom (with Gillian Peele) (1980).
- Wars and Welfare: Britain, 1941-1945 (1984).
- Imperial Sunset-Volume 2: Dream of Commonwealth 1921-42 (1989).
- An Historian in the Twentieth Century (1992).
- Britain and European Union: Dialogue of the Deaf (1996).
Works edited by Beloff include:
- History: Mankind and his story (1948).
- The Federalist (1948).
- The Debate on the American Revolution, 1761-1783 (1949).
- Europe and the Europeans: an International Discussion (1957).
- On the track of tyranny: essays presented by the Wiener Library to Leonard G. Montefiore (1960).
- American Political Institutions in the 1970s (with Vivian Vale) (1975).
- Beyond the Soviet Union: the fragmentation of power (1997).