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[h3]An erudite liberal – the most controversial historian of his era - AJP Taylor successfully popularized history on TV, radio and in his writings, making the most complicated of historical narratives understandable and interesting to a wide public. [/h3]

Taylor was something of a champagne radical; when he arrived at Oxford as an undergraduate in 1924, he came with his trademark bowtie and a two-seater sports car.

He hosted grand dinner parties, but was an enthusiastic supporter of the General Strike. Less visibly, he would slip into libraries and work incognito; being seen to work was not at the time considered ‘sporting’. He got a first.

Continuing in academe, Taylor combed through the Austrian, French and British archives of 19th century diplomacy – a period generally thought too current to come under the serious scrutiny of historians.

But contemporary history fascinated Taylor, and he soon came to lead the research field. He was awarded a PhD by Manchester, but Taylor refused it, claiming he did not wish to be known as ‘Doctor', but he did work as a lecturer there.

In 1938, Taylor became a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, a post he held until 1976.

He began to broadcast as a source of freelance income. He was married three times and, with two families to support, he needed the money.

Taylor was a prolific writer, who wrote dozens of books and hundreds of articles and book reviews. Starting in 1931, he worked as book reviewer for the Manchester Guardian, and from 1957 he was a columnist with the Observer. From 1963 until the death of his friend and patron Lord Beaverbrook in 1964, he was also a columnist with the Daily Express.

His first column in that paper was "Why must we soft-soap the Germans?", in which he complained that the majority of Germans were still Nazis at heart and argued the European Economic Community was little more than an attempt by the Germans to achieve via trade what they failed to accomplish through arms in World War I and World War II.

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From these writings, he helped to popularise the term "the Establishment" to describe Britain's elite. Some have credited him with coining the phrase in a 1953 book review, but this is disputed.

On August 29, 1953, in reviewing a biography of William Cobbett in the New Statesman, Taylor wrote "The Establishment draws in recruits from outside as soon as they are ready to conform to its standards and become respectable. There is nothing more agreeable in life than to make peace with the Establishment—and nothing more corrupting".

Taylor often took stands on the great issues of his time. He was opposed to the British Empire and against Britain's participation in the European Economic Community and NATO and he demanded British withdrawal from Northern Ireland.

He also worked hard to break into radio and television, building up his reputation as an expert on foreign affairs and, later, as a controversialist, ready to express a provocative opinion on almost anything.

In 1957 he was invited, for the first time, to lecture on television, and he gave at least one lecture series every year for the next decade.

He was a broadcasting wizard, able to deliver a coherent and witty lecture, unscripted and with a perfectly timed ending. His radical storytelling inspired the form of subsequent history documentaries, such as 'Timewatch'.

Taylor was badly injured in 1984 when he was run over by a car while crossing the street. The effect of the accident, coupled with the effects of a stroke, led to his retirement in 1985.

In his last years, he endured Parkinson's disease, which left him incapable of writing. His last public appearance was at his 80th birthday in 1986. The following year he entered a nursing home in London, where he died in 1990.
Alan John Percival Taylor biography




Alan John Percival Taylor biography




Alan John Percival Taylor biography