Geoffrey Barraclough

Who was Geoffrey Barraclough?

Geoffrey Barraclough was a British historian, known as a medievalist and historian of Germany.

He was educated at Bootham School in York and at Bradford Grammar School. He read History at Oriel College, Oxford University in 1926-1929.

He was Professor of Medieval History, University of Liverpool during which period he lived in the Seneschal's House, Halton Village, Stevenson Research Professor, University of London, University of California and Professor of History, Brandeis University. He was Chichele Professor of Modern History, University of Oxford from 1970 to 1973.

During the Second World War, Barraclough's sympathy for the USSR and public opposition to the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 drew the criticism of George Orwell, among others.

Professor Barraclough began his career as a medievalist, but developed into a contemporary global historian. He was deeply concerned about history's uses and relevance in the 20th century. It seemed to him that political debate and ultimately political decisions, suffered from a lack of historical insight. To rectify this problem Barraclough developed historiographical methods for comparative history.