Bryan Ranft was an historian of the Royal Navy, who served as Professor of History and International Affairs at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, 1967-1977.

Early life and education

Ranft was educated at Manchester Grammar School

Manchester Grammar School

The Manchester Grammar School is the largest independent day school for boys in the UK . It is based in Manchester, England...

 and Balliol College, Oxford

Balliol College, Oxford

Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....

. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, he joined the Royal Artillery

Royal Artillery

The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...

, rising to the rank of major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

. Well along in his career, Ranft completed his D.Phil. degree in history at Oxford University in 1967 with a thesis on The naval defence of British sea-borne trade, 1860-1905.

Academic career

Upon living the Royal Artillery, Ranft joined the staff of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich and rose to become Professor of History and International Affairs. He was a visiting fellow at King's College London

King's College London

King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...

, where he taught naval history to several generations of postgraduate students, and was appointed Visiting Professor in 1982.

Published works

• The Vernon
  Edward Vernon
  Edward Vernon was an English naval officer. Vernon was born in Westminster, England and went to Westminster School. He joined the Navy in 1700 and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1702 and served on several different ships for the next five years...
  
   Papers,edited by B. McL. Ranft. Publications of the Navy Records Society
  Navy Records Society
  The Navy Records Society was established in 1893 as a scholarly society to publish historical documents that illustrated the history of the Royal Navy. Professor Sir John Knox Laughton and Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge were the key leaders who organized the Society, basing it on the model of earlier...
  
  , vol. 99. [London]: Printed for the Navy Records Society, 1958.

• Greenwich: palace, hospital, college, by Christopher Lloyd
  Christopher Lloyd (naval historian)
  Charles Christopher Lloyd was a British naval historian, who served as Professor of History at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, 1962–1966.-Early life and education:...
  
  ; revised by Bryan Ranft. London: Royal Naval College, 1969.

• Technical change and British naval policy, 1860-1939, edited by Bryan Ranft. London : Hodder and Stoughton, 1977.

• The sea in Soviet strategy, Bryan Ranft and Geoffrey Till
  Geoffrey Till
  Geoffrey Till, FKC is a British naval historian and Professor of Maritime Studies in the Defence Studies Department of King's College London.-Early life and education:...
  
  . London: Macmillan, 1983, 1989.

• Ironclad to Trident: 100 years of defence commentary: Brassey's 1886-1986, edited by Bryan Ranft. London: Brassey's, 1986.

• The Beatty papers: selections from the private and official correspondence of Admiral of the Fleet Earl Beatty
  Earl Beatty
  Earl Beatty is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1919 for the prominent naval commander Admiral of the Fleet David Beatty. He was created Baron Beatty, of the North Sea and of Brooksby in the County of Leicester, and Viscount Borodale, of Wexford in the County of...
  
  , edited by B. McL. Ranft. Two volumes. Aldershot: Scolar Press for the Navy Records Society
  Navy Records Society
  The Navy Records Society was established in 1893 as a scholarly society to publish historical documents that illustrated the history of the Royal Navy. Professor Sir John Knox Laughton and Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge were the key leaders who organized the Society, basing it on the model of earlier...
  
  , 1989-1993.

• The Oxford illustrated history of the Royal Navy, general editor, J. Richard Hill
  J. Richard Hill
  Rear Admiral John Richard Hill is a retired rear-admiral in the Royal Navy, a former chief executive of the Middle Temple, author, and editor of many books on naval affairs.-Early life and education:...
  
  ; consultant editor, Bryan Ranft. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1995.

• "Beatty, David, first Earl Beatty (1871–1936)’ in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004

• The development of British naval thinking: essays in memory of Bryan Ranft, edited by Geoffrey Till
  Geoffrey Till
  Geoffrey Till, FKC is a British naval historian and Professor of Maritime Studies in the Defence Studies Department of King's College London.-Early life and education:...
  
  . London : Routledge, 2006.

Source

• Obituary "Professor Bryan Ranft: Historian of the Royal Navy", Guardian, 25 May 2001.