Trevelyan, George Macaulay (1876–1962)
© The Master and Fellows of Trinity College Cambridge
Considered by himself and others the last of the Whig historians, Trevelyan was extremely popular with the general public for his works on English history and on Garibaldi. However, his view that the purpose of history was to instruct and entertain was much criticised by contemporaries at a time when the discipline was becoming more rigorous and 'scientific'.
- Forenames:
- George Macaulay
- Surname:
- Trevelyan
- Honours:
- CBE
- Dates:
- 1876–1962
- Institutions:
- Historical Association
University of Cambridge (Trinity College) - Significant posts:
- President, Historical Association
Regius Professor of Modern History, University of Cambridge (Trinity College)
- Influences:
- Carlyle, Thomas
Macaulay, Thomas Babington - Contemporaries:
- Butterfield, Herbert
Elton, Geoffrey Rudolph
Namier, Lewis Bernstein - Influenced:
- Chadwick, Owen
Plumb, John Harold - Themes:
- Constitutional history
Italian history
Political history
Whig history
- Biographies:
- Blackwell Dictionary of Historians
Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- Obituaries:
- Times
Bibliography
Personal papers
Significant publications
- G. M. Trevelyan, English Social History: a Survey of Six Centuries (London, 1942)
- G. M. Trevelyan, Garibaldi's Defence of the Roman Republic, 1848–49 (London, 1907)
- G. M. Trevelyan, Garibaldi and the Thousand: Naples and Sicily 1859–60 (London, 1909)
- G. M. Trevelyan, Garabaldi and the Making of Italy: June-November 1860 (London, 1911)
Other reading
- Anthony Fletcher, '"englandpast.net" : a framework for the social history of England', Historical Research, 75 (2002), 296–315
