Wikipedia

David Olusoga

David Adetayo OlusogaOBE(born January 1970[1]) is a British historian, writer and broadcaster. He is Professor of Public History at theUniversity of Manchester.[2]Olusoga has presented historical documentaries on theBBCand contributed toThe One ShowandThe Guardian.[3]

David Olusoga

OBE
Olusoga in 2022
Olusoga in 2022
BornDavid Adetayo Olusoga
January 1970 (age 54)
Lagos,Nigeria
OccupationHistorian, writer, broadcaster
LanguageEnglish
CitizenshipBritish
Alma materUniversity of Liverpool
Notable worksBlack and British: A Forgotten History(2016)
Notable awardsHessell-Tiltman Prize

Early life and education

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David Olusoga was born inLagos,Nigeria, to a Nigerian father and British mother.[4]At five years old, Olusoga migrated to the UK with his mother and grew up inGateshead,Tyne and Wear.[5]He was one of a very few non-white people living on acouncil estate.By the time he was 14, theNational Fronthad attacked his house on more than one occasion, requiring police protection for him and his family. They were eventually forced to leave as a result of the racism.[6]He later attended theUniversity of Liverpoolto study the history of slavery,[7]and in 1994, graduated with a BA (Hons) History degree,[8]followed by a postgraduate course in broadcast journalism atLeeds Trinity University.[9]

Career and recognition

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Olusoga began his television career as a researcher on the 1999 BBC seriesWestern Front.He became aproducerof history programmes after university, working from 2005 on programmes such asNamibia: Genocide and the Second Reich,The Lost Pictures of Eugene SmithandAbraham Lincoln: Saint or Sinner?.

Subsequently he became atelevision presenter,beginning in 2014 withThe World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire,about the Indian, African and Asian troops who fought in the First World War, followed by other documentaries and appearances onBBC Onetelevision'sThe One Show.In 2015, it was announced that he would co-presentCivilisations,a sequel toLord Clark's 1969 television documentary seriesCivilisation,alongside the historiansMary BeardandSimon Schama.[6]His most recent TV series includeBlack and British: A Forgotten History,The World's War,A House Through Timeand the BAFTA award-winningBritain's Forgotten Slave Owners.[2][10][11]

Olusoga has written stand-alone history books, as well as those accompanying his television series. He is the author of the 2016 bookBlack and British: A Forgotten History,which was awarded both theLongman–History Today Trustees Award2017 and the PENHessell-Tiltman Prize2017. His other books includeThe World’s War,which won First World War Book of the Year in 2015,The Kaiser’s Holocaust: Germany’s Forgotten Genocide and the Colonial Roots of Nazism(2011) which he co-authored with Casper Erichsen, andCivilisations(2018). He contributed to theOxford Companion to Black British History,and has written forThe Guardian,The Observer,New StatesmanandBBC Historymagazine;[12]since June 2018 he has been a member of the board of theScott Trust,which publishesThe Guardian.[13]

Olusoga was included in the2019and2020editions of thePowerlist,a ranking of the 100 most influential Black Britons,[14][15]and in the2021edition he made the Top 10 most influential, ranking eighth.[16]

He was appointed anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire(OBE) in the2019 New Year Honoursfor services to history and to community integration.[17]He received his medal fromKing Charles IIIin February 2023.[18][19]

On appointing him as a professor in 2019, the University of Manchester described him as an expert on military history, empire, race and slavery, and "one of the UK's foremost historians".[2]Olusoga gave his inaugural professorial lecture on "Identity, Britishness and theWindrush"at the University of Manchester in May 2019.[20]

In response to the globalBlack Lives Mattermovement withprotestsafter themurder of George Floyd,Olusoga'sBlack and British: A Forgotten Historywas re-broadcast,[21]along withBritain's Forgotten Slave Owners,also fronted by Olusoga.[22]

On 13 November 2020, the BBC announced that it had commissionedBarack Obama Talks To David Olusoga,a special programme in whichBarack Obamadiscusses the first volume of his presidential memoirs,A Promised Land.[4]The programme aired on 19 January 2021.

In January 2021, Olusoga appeared onBBC Radio 4'sDesert Island Discs.[23]

In December 2021, it was announced that Olusoga had been awarded thePresident's Medalby theBritish Academy.Olusoga is the 39th person to receive the medal, which has been awarded since 2010, and recognises services to the humanities and social sciences.[24]

In 2024, Olusoga with his siblings Yinka and Kemi co-created the bookBlack History for Every Day of the Year,including an entry for each calendar day with details of an event, theme, person or place associated with "Black history" with the aim of integrating it into the mainstream of national history rather than relegating it only to "Black History Month".[25]

Awards and honours

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Filmography

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  • The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire(2014)
  • Fighting for King and Empire: Britain's Caribbean Heroes(2015)
  • The One Show(various episodes)
  • Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners(2015)
  • Black and British: A Forgotten History(2016)
  • Timewatch:"British Empire – Heroes and Villains" and "Dictators and Despots" (both 2017)
  • Civilisations(two of nine episodes, "First Contact" and "The Cult of Progress" ) (2018)
  • A House Through Time(2018–2024)
  • The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files(2019)
  • Statue Wars: One Summer in Bristol(2021)
  • Our NHS: A Hidden History(2021)
  • The People's Piazza: A History of Covent Garden(2022)
  • Union with David Olusoga(2023)

Books

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  • The Kaiser's Holocaust: Germany's Forgotten Genocide and the Colonial Roots of Nazism(Faber and Faber, 2011);ISBN978-0571231423(with Casper W. Erichsen)
  • The World's War(Head of Zeus, 2015);ISBN978-1781858981
  • Black and British: A Forgotten History(Macmillan, 2016);ISBN978-1447299745
  • Civilisations: First Contact/The Cult of Progress(Profile Books,2018);ISBN978-1781259979
  • The Black History Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained(DK,2021);ISBN978-0744042146
  • Black History for Every Day of the Year(Macmillan, 2024);ISBN978-1529066203(with Yinka Olusoga and Kemi Olusoga)

References

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  1. ^"David Adetayo OLUSOGA".Companies House.Archived fromthe originalon 7 January 2018.Retrieved7 January2018.
  2. ^abc"David Olusoga OBE becomes Professor at The University of Manchester"(Press release).University of Manchester.7 January 2019.Retrieved15 January2021.
  3. ^"David Olusoga".The Guardian.
  4. ^abDavid Olusoga's Biographyat biogs.com.
  5. ^Meechan, Simon (9 April 2019)."David Olusoga won't let racists define his youth in the North East".nechronicle.Retrieved10 April2019.
  6. ^abManzoor, Sarfraz (9 November 2016)."David Olusoga is the new face of BBC history – but as a boy he was driven out of his home by racists".Radio Times.Archived fromthe originalon 3 April 2019.Retrieved31 August2021.
  7. ^"David Olusoga, lecturer at Slavery Remembrance Day 2015".International Slavery Museum.Retrieved15 January2021.
  8. ^"Honorary degree nominations".University of Liverpool.10 March 2019.Retrieved15 January2021.
  9. ^ab"Honorary, David Olusoga tells graduates to 'be lucky'".University of Liverpool.20 July 2017.Retrieved22 November2020.
  10. ^"Britain's forgotten slave-owners: BBC TV broadcast".Legacies of British Slavery.UCL Department of History.Retrieved14 May2023.
  11. ^"Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners S01 E02 The Price Of Freedom Official".YouTube.30 August 2015.Retrieved14 May2023.
  12. ^"Profile: David Olusoga".London ReviewBookshop. Retrieved 15 January 2021,
  13. ^Weaver, Matthew (1 September 2020)."David Olusoga: I wanted to join protestors who tore down Colston statue".The Guardian.Retrieved15 January2021.
  14. ^Hicks, Amber (23 October 2018)."List of 100 most influential black people includes Meghan Markle for first time".Daily Mirror.Retrieved20 April2020.
  15. ^Mills, Kelly-Ann (25 October 2019)."Raheem Sterling joins Meghan and Stormzy in top 100 most influential black Brits".Daily Mirror.Retrieved20 April2020.
  16. ^"Lewis Hamilton named most influential black person in UK".BBC News.17 November 2020.Retrieved19 January2021.
  17. ^ab"No. 62507".The London Gazette(Supplement). 29 December 2018. p. N13.
  18. ^Sarkari, K. (2 February 2023)."King Charles Awards...David Olusoga OBE".9honey.Retrieved2 February2023.
  19. ^Gayle, Damien (1 April 2019)."Word 'empire' made accepting OBE difficult, says David Olusoga".The Guardian.Retrieved9 May2019.
  20. ^"David Olusoga OBE Inaugural Professorial Lecture: 'Identity, Britishness and the Windrush'".Events at theUniversity of Manchester.22 May 2019.Retrieved4 May2021.
  21. ^Alex, Susannah (8 June 2020)."BBC to re-air historian David Olusoga's documentary series Black and British: A Forgotten History".Digital Spy.Retrieved4 October2020.
  22. ^"Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners".BBC iPlayer.Retrieved4 May2021.
  23. ^"David Olusoga, historian and broadcaster".Desert Island Discs.BBC Radio 4.15 January 2021.Retrieved15 January2021.
  24. ^abMohdin, Aamna (9 December 2021)."Historian David Olusoga awarded President's Medal".The Guardian.Retrieved9 December2021.
  25. ^Woodley, Jennifer (26 September 2024)."David Olusoga's new book joins the struggle to make Black history mainstream".The Conversation.Retrieved27 September2024.
  26. ^"The Paddy Power Political Book Awards".Paddy Power Political Book Awards.Archived fromthe originalon 6 February 2016.Retrieved28 July2017.
  27. ^"Bafta TV Awards 2016: the full list of winners".The Daily Telegraph.9 May 2016.Retrieved15 January2021.
  28. ^"Longman-History Today Awards 2017: The Winners | History Today".www.historytoday.com.29 June 2017.Retrieved28 July2017.
  29. ^Sharp, Robert (10 July 2017)."David Olusoga wins PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize 2017 for Black and British".English PEN.Archived fromthe originalon 30 March 2020.Retrieved10 November2017.
  30. ^"Honorary graduates: David Adetayo Olusoga".University of Leeds.11 July 2018. Archived fromthe originalon 6 December 2021.Retrieved15 January2021.
  31. ^"TV broadcaster receives top honour from University of Leicester".University of Leicester.25 January 2019.Retrieved28 December2020.


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