John Saville
Encyclopedia
John Saville was a Greek
-British
Marxist historian, long associated with Hull University
. He was one of the most influential writers on British Labour History in the second half of the twentieth century.
to a Greek
father and British
mother. He took the surname Saville from his mother's second husband, and was brought up in Romford
.
He won a scholarship to Royal Liberty School
in London and went on to study at the London School of Economics
, where he joined the CPGB. He was an active member of the Communist Party until 1956 and also fought in the Second World War on the Liverpool Docks and in India. He was deeply involved in the crisis of the British Communist Party in 1956, following the Soviet invasion of Hungary.
Breaking his affiliation with the cluster of British Marxist historians known as the Communist Party Historians Group
, Saville emerged as one of the supporters of the New Reasoner
group of dissident Marxists who condemned the Soviet intervention in Hungary in 1956. Saville became Professor of Economic History at the University of Hull in 1973, where he had taught since 1947. He was associated with the Socialist Register (editor with Ralph Miliband
) and the multi-volume Dictionary of Labour Biography; from 1972 onwards he was one of the editors of the ten-volume Dictionary.
His wife Constance died in 2007. He was survived by their three sons, a daughter, and two grand daughters.
His acquaintances and co-thinkers included the MI5
agent planted at his home in Hull, John Griffith, Stuart Hall
, Philip Larkin
, Doris Lessing
, Ralph Miliband, Sir John Pratt, Raphael Samuel
and E.P. Thompson.
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
-British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
Marxist historian, long associated with Hull University
University of Hull
The University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...
. He was one of the most influential writers on British Labour History in the second half of the twentieth century.
Life and career
He was born Orestes Stamatopoulos in 1916, in Gainsborough, LincolnshireGainsborough, Lincolnshire
Gainsborough is a town 15 miles north-west of Lincoln on the River Trent within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. At one time it served as an important port with trade downstream to Hull, and was the most inland in England, being more than 55 miles from the North...
to a Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
father and British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
mother. He took the surname Saville from his mother's second husband, and was brought up in Romford
Romford
Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...
.
He won a scholarship to Royal Liberty School
Royal Liberty School
The Royal Liberty School, once a traditional English grammar school, now a state comprehensive boys senior school in Gidea Park in the London Borough of Havering in east London, United Kingdom.-Admissions:...
in London and went on to study at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, where he joined the CPGB. He was an active member of the Communist Party until 1956 and also fought in the Second World War on the Liverpool Docks and in India. He was deeply involved in the crisis of the British Communist Party in 1956, following the Soviet invasion of Hungary.
Breaking his affiliation with the cluster of British Marxist historians known as the Communist Party Historians Group
Communist Party Historians Group
A subdivision of the Communist Party of Great Britain , from 1946-1956 the Communist Party Historians Group formed a highly influential cluster of British Marxist historians, who contributed to "history from below." Famous members included such leading lights of 20th-century British history as...
, Saville emerged as one of the supporters of the New Reasoner
New Reasoner
During the crisis of the 1950s within the Communist Party of Great Britain , John Saville and E.P. Thompson created a journal of dissident Communism named the Reasoner. They took the title from an early 19th century publication, created by John Bone, which had been an attempt at renewing and...
group of dissident Marxists who condemned the Soviet intervention in Hungary in 1956. Saville became Professor of Economic History at the University of Hull in 1973, where he had taught since 1947. He was associated with the Socialist Register (editor with Ralph Miliband
Ralph Miliband
Ralph Miliband , born Adolphe Miliband, was a Belgian-born British sociologist known as a prominent Marxist thinker...
) and the multi-volume Dictionary of Labour Biography; from 1972 onwards he was one of the editors of the ten-volume Dictionary.
His wife Constance died in 2007. He was survived by their three sons, a daughter, and two grand daughters.
His acquaintances and co-thinkers included the MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
agent planted at his home in Hull, John Griffith, Stuart Hall
Stuart Hall (cultural theorist)
Stuart Hall is a cultural theorist and sociologist who has lived and worked in the United Kingdom since 1951. Hall, along with Richard Hoggart and Raymond Williams, was one of the founding figures of the school of thought that is now known as British Cultural Studies or The Birmingham School of...
, Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Arthur Larkin, CH, CBE, FRSL is widely regarded as one of the great English poets of the latter half of the twentieth century...
, Doris Lessing
Doris Lessing
Doris May Lessing CH is a British writer. Her novels include The Grass is Singing, The Golden Notebook, and five novels collectively known as Canopus in Argos....
, Ralph Miliband, Sir John Pratt, Raphael Samuel
Raphael Samuel
Raphael Elkan Samuel was a British Marxist historian, described by Stuart Hall as "one of the most outstanding, original intellectuals of his generation" . He was professor of history at the University of East London at the time of his death and also taught at Ruskin College from 1962 until his...
and E.P. Thompson.
Works
- Ernest Jones, Chartist: Selections from the Writings and Speeches of Ernest JonesErnest Charles JonesErnest Charles Jones , was an English poet, novelist, and Chartist.- Background :Born in Berlin, he was the son of a British Army Major, equerry to the Duke of Cumberland, afterwards King of Hanover. In 1838 Jones came to England, and in 1841 published anonymously The Wood Spirit, a romantic novel....
(1952) editor - Democracy and the Labour Movement: Essays in Honour of Dona TorrDona TorrDona Ruth Anne Torr was a British Marxist historian, and a major influence on the Communist Party Historians Group. Aside from her translations of many Marxist classics into English, she is perhaps best known for her unfinished biography of the important labour activist, Tom Mann, Tom Mann and his...
(1954) editor - Rural Depopulation in England and Wales, 1851-1951 (1957)
- The Age of Improvement 1783-1867 (1964) editor with Asa Briggs
- The Red RepublicanRed RepublicanThe Red Republican was a British socialist newspaper published from June 22, 1850 to November 30, 1850, after which it was renamed The Friend of the People.-Foundation:...
& The Friend of the People: A Facsimile Reprint (1966, 2 volumes) editor - Essays in Labour History 1886-1923 (1967) editor with Asa Briggs, and later volumes
- A Selection of the Political Pamphlets of Charles BradlaughCharles BradlaughCharles Bradlaugh was a political activist and one of the most famous English atheists of the 19th century. He founded the National Secular Society in 1866.-Early life:...
(1970) editor - Selection of the Social and Political Pamphlets of Annie BesantAnnie BesantAnnie Besant was a prominent British Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self rule.She was married at 19 to Frank Besant but separated from him over religious differences. She then became a prominent speaker for the National Secular Society ...
(1970), editor - Dictionary of Labour Biography (from 1972, ten volumes) editor with Joyce M. Bellamy, David E. Martin
- Marxism and History (1974) Inaugural Lecture, University of Hull, 6 November 1973
- Working Conditions in the Victorian Age: Debates on the Issue from 19th Century Critical Journals (1973)
- Marxism and Politics (1977) editor with Ralph MilibandRalph MilibandRalph Miliband , born Adolphe Miliband, was a Belgian-born British sociologist known as a prominent Marxist thinker...
, Marcel LiebmanMarcel LiebmanMarcel Liebman was a Belgian Marxist historian of political sociology and theory, active at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and Vrije Universiteit Brussel.- Biography :...
, Leo PanitchLeo PanitchLeo Panitch is a Distinguished Research Professor, renowned political economist, Marxist theorist and editor of the Socialist Register. He received a B.A. from the University of Manitoba in 1967 and a M.Sc. and PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1968 and 1974,... - Ideology and the Labour Movement: Essays Presented to John Saville (1979) David RubinsteinDavid RubinsteinDavid Rubinstein is a pianist. He has given concerts featuring the works of American composers such as Charles Griffes and Aaron Copland at the American Landmark Festivals, as well as performing his own works...
- Nottinghamshire Labour Movement, 1880-1939 (1985) with Peter Wyncoll
- 1848 : The British State And The Chartist Movement (1987)
- The Labour Movement in Britain (1988)
- The Labour Archive at the University of Hull (1989)
- The Politics of Continuity: British Foreign Policy and the Labour Government, 1945-46 (1993)
- The Consolidation of the Capitalist State, 1800-1850 (1994)
- Memoirs from the Left (2002)
External links
- A Life on the Left, Review of Memoirs from the Left.