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Walter Alison Phillips

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For the newspaper editor, seeAlison Phillips.

Walter Alison Phillips
MRIA
Born21 October 1864
Epsom,Surrey,England
Died28 October 1950(1950-10-28)(aged 86)
NationalityBritish
Academic background
Alma mater
Academic work
DisciplineHistory
Sub-disciplineHistory of Europe
Institutions

Walter Alison PhillipsMRIA(21 October 1864 – 28 October 1950) was an Englishhistorian,a specialist in thehistory of Europein the 19th century. From 1914 to 1939 he was the first holder of theLecky chair of HistoryinTrinity College Dublin.Most of his writing is in the name ofW. Alison Phillips,and he was sometimes referred to asAlison Phillips.

A formerpresidentof theOxford Unionandspecial correspondentofThe Timesnewspaper, he was a prolific author, including contributions to theEncyclopædia Britannica,of which for eight years he was chief assistant editor.

Early life[edit]

The son of John and Jane Phillips ofEpsominSurrey,Phillips was educated atMerchant Taylors' School,which he left in 1882, then atMerton College,Oxford, where he was anexhibitioner,and lastly from 1886 atSt John's,where he was Senior Scholar.[1]He graduatedBAin 1885, withfirst class honoursin History, andMAin 1889.[2][3]

In theMichaelmasterm of 1886, he wasPresidentof the Oxford Union.[2][4]On 7 June 1887, as a guest in theCambridge Union,he supported the motion "That in the opinion of this House it is desirable to concedeHome RuleforIreland",[5]whileSir John Gorst,a formerSolicitor General,came to speak against the motion.[6]

Career[edit]

At first, Phillips concentrated his efforts on writing. His first book, published in 1896, was a translation of selected poems ofWalther von der Vogelweide,[7]followed the next year byThe War of Greek Independence, 1821 to 1833.[8]In 1901 appeared hisModern Europe, 1815–1899.[9]

From 1903 to 1911, Phillips was Chief Assistant Editor of theprojected 11th editionof theEncyclopædia Britannica,[3]serving underHugh Chisholm,who was editor-in-chief.[10]In 1912, he went toSouth Americaas aSpecial CorrespondentofThe Timesnewspaper, and then in 1913 was on the staff ofThe Times.[2][3]In 1914 he was appointedLecky ProfessorofModern Historyin Trinity College Dublin, the first holder of the new chair, in which he remained until his retirement in 1939.[3][11]From 1939 until his death he was an honoraryFellowof his old Oxford college, Merton.[3][12][13]

Phillips was strongly opposed toIrish Home Ruleand once declared that "Ireland isnot a nation, but two peoplesseparated by a deeper gulf than that dividing Ireland from Great Britain ".[12]His 1923 bookThe Revolution in Ireland 1906–1923was criticized for being too partisan of theUnionistpoint of view.[14]

By 1922, Phillips was a member of theRoyal Irish Academy(MRIA).[15]Outside his own specialism in European history, he contributed articles to theEncyclopædia Britannicaon musical and literary subjects, including theNibelungenlied.[16]

Publications[edit]

  • Phillips, Walter Alison (1896).Selected Poems of Walter von der Vogelweide, the Minnesinger, done into English verse, with an introduction and six illustrations.London: Smith, Elder – via Internet Archive.
  • Phillips, W. Alison (1897).The War of Greek Independence, 1821 to 1833.London: Smith, Elder – via Internet Archive.
  • Phillips, W. Alison (1901).Modern Europe, 1815–1899.Periods of European History. Vol. VIII. London: Rivingtons – via Internet Archive.
  • Phillips, W. Alison (1905) [1903].George Canning.Oxford Biographies (new and cheaper ed.). London: Methuen – via Internet Archive.
  • Ward, Adolphus William;Prothero, G. W.;Leathes, Stanley,eds. (1907).The Restoration.Cambridge Modern History.Vol. v.10. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press– via Internet Archive.
  • Phillips, Walter Alison (1920) [1914].The Confederation of Europe; A Study of the European Alliance, 1813–1823, as an Experiment in the International Organization of Peace(2nd ed.). London: Longmans, Green – via Internet Archive.
  • Many articlesfor theEncyclopædia Britannica,Eleventh Edition,signed by the initials "W. A. P."; some published separately on the outbreak of the First World War:
  • Phillips, W. Alison (1926) [1923].The Revolution in Ireland 1906–1923(2nd ed.). London: Longmans, Green – via Internet Archive.
  • Phillips, Walter Alison, ed. (1933–1934).History of the Church of Ireland: from the Earliest Times to the Present Day.London: Oxford University Press.[in 3 volumes]

References[edit]

  1. ^Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Table of contributors".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. xi.
  2. ^abcE. P. Hart,Merchant Taylors' School Register, 1851-1920(1923),p. 130:"Phillips, Walter Alison, b. 21 October 1864, s. of John and Jane, Epsom. Left 1882; Exhib. of Merton Coll., Oxf.; BA (1st Cl. Hist.) 1885; MA 1889; Sen. Schol. of St. John's 1886; Pres. Oxford Union Soc. 1887; Chief Asst. Editor of theEncy. Brit.(11th Ed.) 1903-11; Special Correspondent of theTimesin S. America 1912; on staff of the Times, 1913; Lecky Prof. of Modern Hist. T.C.D. since 1914... W. Alison Phillips, Trinity College Dublin. "
  3. ^abcdeLevens, R.G.C., ed. (1964).Merton College Register 1900-1964.Oxford: Basil Blackwell. p. 300.
  4. ^The Taylorian: a journal devoted to the interests and amusements of the boys of Merchant Taylor's school;vol. VII (1886), p. 229: "W. A. Phillips, of Merton College, has been elected President of the Oxford Union Society, of which C. J. Blacker, of the same College, is Treasurer."
  5. ^The Cambridge Review;Volume 8 (1887), p. 396: "Mr. W. A. Phillips, St. John's, Ex-President of Oxford Union Society, substitute for Mr. J. D. Power, Downing College, the mover of the adjournment, opened the Debate" That in the opinion of this House it is desirable to concede Home Rule for Ireland ".
  6. ^Joseph S. Meisel,Public Speech and the Culture of Public Life in the Age of Gladstone(Columbia University Press, 2001),p. 24
  7. ^Appleton's Annual Cyclopædia and Register of Important Events,1896–1899, p. 475
  8. ^The War of Greek Independence, 1821 to 1833,publication detailsat books.google.com
  9. ^Modern Europe, 1815–1899,outlineat ks.google.com
  10. ^S. Padraig Walsh,Anglo-American general encyclopedias: a historical bibliography(1968), p. 49
  11. ^James Johnston Auchmuty,Lecky: a biographical and critical essay(Dublin: Hodges, Figgis & Co., 1945), p. 127: "The first holder of the Lecky Chair was Professor Walter Alison Phillips, Litt.D., later Honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, who was appointed in 1914. Few more suitable appointments could have been made..."
  12. ^abG. K. Chesterton,Irish Impressions(2002 reprint), p. 138
  13. ^Chris Wrigley,A. J. P. Taylor: radical historian of Europe(2006),p. 378
  14. ^Review inJournal of the British Institute of International Affairsvol. 2, no. 6 (Nov. 1923),pp. 260–262at jstor.org (subscription required)
  15. ^Encyclopædia Britannica,12th edition, vol. 3, schedule of contributors
  16. ^Phillips, Walter Alison (1911)."Nibelungenlied".InChisholm, Hugh(ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

External links[edit]

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