Cyril Philips facts for kids
Sir Cyril Henry Philips, FRAS (27 December 1912, Worcester – 29 December 2005, Swanage, Dorset), knighted in the 1974 New Years Honours List, was a noted British historian and academic director.
Early life
His father had worked as an engine driver on the Indian railways, and Philips in the 1920s spent some years in Bihar.
He was educated first at Rock Ferry High School, and in 1931 he attended the University of Liverpool, graduating in 1934 with a first-class degree in history.
He then attended the School of Oriental Studies in London where he wrote a history thesis on the East India Company, in 1940, published as The East India Company: 1784–1834, which The Times described in his obituary as "a rich Namier-like analysis of the various interests in the court of directors as well as a study of its operations".
Career
During the Second World War, he served in the Army Education Corps, ending the war as a lieutenant colonel.
He joined the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), and soon became professor and head of the history department.
In 1956 he became director of SOAS, succeeding Sir Ralph Turner, where he "...virtually remade the school..." in the following years.
From 1972 to 1976 he was appointed vice-chancellor of the University of London, where he was involved in controversial reforms which shortened his tenure.
See also
- List of Vice-Chancellors of the University of London
