The 1960 University of Oxford election for the position of Chancellor was called upon the death of the incumbent Chancellor

Chancellor (education)

A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....

, Lord Halifax on 23 December 1959. It was the first election for Oxford Chancellor to be contested since 1925.

Electorate

The electorate consisted of all members of the University

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 holding the rank of MA, of which there were around 30,000 at the time. Votes had to be cast in person at Oxford in academic dress

Academic dress of the University of Oxford

The University of Oxford has a long tradition of academic dress, and a visitor to Oxford during term will see academic dress worn on a regular basis.- When academic dress is worn :...

. The election was by first past the post. To stand a candidate had to be nominated by two MAs.

Candidates

At first, the university authorities came up with only one candidate, the wealthy Chairman of Lloyds Bank

Lloyds Bank

Lloyds Bank Plc was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1765 until its merger into Lloyds TSB in 1995; it remains a registered company but is currently dormant. It expanded during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and took over a number of smaller banking companies...

 and former British Ambassador to Washington Sir Oliver Franks.

However, Hugh Trevor-Roper, installed less than three years earlier as Regius Professor of Modern History

Regius Professor of Modern History (Oxford)

The Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford is an old-established professorial position. The first appointment was made in 1724...

 by the Prime Minister Harold Macmillan

Harold Macmillan

Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....

, proposed the Prime Minister as an alternative candidate.

Course of the election

Trevor-Roper orchestrated the Macmillan campaign, writing to former students encouraging them to visit Oxford to vote for Macmillan.

Result

The results were as follows:

Candidate		Votes	%
Harold Macmillan Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....		1,976	53.8
Sir Oliver Franks		1,697	46.2
Turnout		3,673
Harold Macmillan elected

See also

• University of Oxford Chancellor election, 1925
  University of Oxford Chancellor election, 1925
  The 1925 University of Oxford election for the position of Chancellor was called upon the death of the incumbent Chancellor, George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston on 20 March 1925.-Electorate:...
  
  
• University of Oxford Chancellor election, 1987
  University of Oxford Chancellor election, 1987
  The 1987 University of Oxford election for the position of Chancellor was called upon the death of the incumbent Chancellor, Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton on 29 December 1986.-Electorate:...
  
  
• University of Oxford Chancellor election, 2003
  University of Oxford Chancellor election, 2003
  The 2003 University of Oxford election for the position of Chancellor was called upon the death of the incumbent Chancellor, Roy Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead on 5 January 2003.-Electorate:...
  
  
• University of Cambridge Chancellor election, 2011
  University of Cambridge Chancellor election, 2011
  The University of Cambridge held an election for the position of Chancellor in October 2011, resulting in the choice of Lord Sainsbury of Turville to succeed the retiring incumbent Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The Duke had retired on 30 June 2011, shortly after his 90th birthday, having been...
  
  
• List of Chancellors of the University of Oxford