Max Crawford
Encyclopedia
Raymond Maxwell Crawford (6 August 1906–24 November 1991), was a leading Australia
n historian
. He was Professor of History at the University of Melbourne
from 1937 to 1970.
Crawford was born in Grenfell, New South Wales
, where his father was a coalminer and railway worker. His brother, Sir John Crawford
, became a distinguished economist. Max Crawford was educated at Sydney Boys High School
, the University of Sydney
and Balliol College, Oxford
, where he studied English, history, philosophy and fine art (he was an accomplished painter and poet). In 1935 he returned to Australia to take up a lectureship in history at Sydney, and in 1937 he succeeded Sir Ernest Scott as Professor of History at Melbourne.
Although Crawford's main area of professional interest was the Renaissance
, he recognised that as one of the few Australian historians employed in Australian universities at that time, he had a duty to promote the study of Australian history, which had generally been regarded as unworthy of serious study by most Australian university academics before his time. In 1952 he published Australia, a one-volume general history of Australia which became a standard work for some years. He was one of the founders of the journal Historical Studies (the first academic journal devoted to Australian history), of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies and of the Australian Humanities Research Council.
During Crawford's tenure the Melbourne University History Department developed into what became known as the "Melbourne school" of Australian history. The tenets of Crawford's school were meticulous attention to research and scholarship, combined with a broadly liberal and progressive outlook, underpinned by the belief that Australian history was worthy of serious academic effort.
Crawford described himself as a political liberal
, but he was willing to lend his support to left-wing causes. Like many of his generation he was greatly influenced by the Spanish Civil War
of 1936-39. He was vice-president of the Australian Council for Civil Liberties from 1938 to 1945, and was on the executive of the Australia-Soviet Friendship League. During World War II
he served on the staff of the Australian Embassy in the Soviet Union
. During the Cold War
period of the early 1950s he was attacked as a "fellow traveller
" and a "pink professor," charges which he generally ignored.
After World War II Australian universities expanded greatly and became more bureaucratic in their operations. Crawford oversaw the rapid expansion of the History Department, but retained his personal control, and appointed all its staff personally until 1958. Among the staff Crawford employed and encouraged were Manning Clark
, Geoffrey Blainey
, Greg Dening
, John La Nauze, John Poynter, Margaret Kiddle and Kathleen Fitzpatrick
- several of these also studied under Crawford.
Crawford was awarded an OBE
in 1971 and was awarded an honorary doctorate of letters by the University of Melbourne in 1988. He devoted his retirement to painting and poetry, and died in Melbourne in 1991. His fellow historian John Mulvaney
wrote on his death: "He elevated the contribution of history by his imaginative leadership in stimulating his staff and students to rewrite the past, and to assist positively in reshaping Australian national life and culture."
Crawford's publications include The Study of History: A Synoptic View (1939), Ourselves and the Pacific (1941), The Renaissance and Other Essays (1945), Australia (1952), An Australian Perspective (1960) and A Bit of a Rebel (1971). In 2005 Faye Anderson published a biography, An Historian's Life: Max Crawford and the Politics of Academic Freedom (Melbourne University Press).
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
. He was Professor of History at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
from 1937 to 1970.
Crawford was born in Grenfell, New South Wales
Grenfell, New South Wales
Grenfell is a country town in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia, in Weddin Shire. It is 370 kilometres west of Sydney and five hours' drive from the city. It is close to Forbes, Cowra and Young. At the 2006 census, Grenfell had a population of 1,994.-History:Prior to European...
, where his father was a coalminer and railway worker. His brother, Sir John Crawford
John Crawford (economist)
Sir John Grenfell Crawford AC CBE was an economist and a key architect of Australia's Post-War growth.Born in Sydney, among the positions he held were Adviser to the World Bank, Washington D.C., Director, Australian Japanese Economic Research Project, and Chairman, Advisory Board, Australian...
, became a distinguished economist. Max Crawford was educated at Sydney Boys High School
Sydney Boys High School
Sydney Boys High School is an academically selective public secondary school for boys, located in the City of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, with 1,180 students, from years 7 to 12...
, the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
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....
, where he studied English, history, philosophy and fine art (he was an accomplished painter and poet). In 1935 he returned to Australia to take up a lectureship in history at Sydney, and in 1937 he succeeded Sir Ernest Scott as Professor of History at Melbourne.
Although Crawford's main area of professional interest was the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, he recognised that as one of the few Australian historians employed in Australian universities at that time, he had a duty to promote the study of Australian history, which had generally been regarded as unworthy of serious study by most Australian university academics before his time. In 1952 he published Australia, a one-volume general history of Australia which became a standard work for some years. He was one of the founders of the journal Historical Studies (the first academic journal devoted to Australian history), of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies and of the Australian Humanities Research Council.
During Crawford's tenure the Melbourne University History Department developed into what became known as the "Melbourne school" of Australian history. The tenets of Crawford's school were meticulous attention to research and scholarship, combined with a broadly liberal and progressive outlook, underpinned by the belief that Australian history was worthy of serious academic effort.
Crawford described himself as a political liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, but he was willing to lend his support to left-wing causes. Like many of his generation he was greatly influenced by the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
of 1936-39. He was vice-president of the Australian Council for Civil Liberties from 1938 to 1945, and was on the executive of the Australia-Soviet Friendship League. 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 served on the staff of the Australian Embassy in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
period of the early 1950s he was attacked as a "fellow traveller
Fellow traveller
Fellow traveler or fellow traveller is a term referring to a person who sympathizes with the beliefs of an organization or cooperates in its activities without maintaining formal membership in that particular group...
" and a "pink professor," charges which he generally ignored.
After World War II Australian universities expanded greatly and became more bureaucratic in their operations. Crawford oversaw the rapid expansion of the History Department, but retained his personal control, and appointed all its staff personally until 1958. Among the staff Crawford employed and encouraged were Manning Clark
Manning Clark
Charles Manning Hope Clark, AC , an Australian historian, was the author of the best-known general history of Australia, his six-volume A History of Australia, published between 1962 and 1987...
, Geoffrey Blainey
Geoffrey Blainey
Geoffrey Norman Blainey AC , is a prominent Australian historian.Blainey was born in Melbourne and raised in a series of Victorian country towns before attending Wesley College and the University of Melbourne. While at university he was editor of Farrago, the newspaper of the University of...
, Greg Dening
Greg Dening
Greg Dening was born in Newcastle, New South Wales. He was educated at the Jesuit School, St Louis in Perth and at Xavier College in Melbourne. He earned an MA from Melbourne University and his PhD from Harvard where his doctoral dissertation was a historical ethnography of the Marquesas Islands...
, John La Nauze, John Poynter, Margaret Kiddle and Kathleen Fitzpatrick
Kathleen Fitzpatrick (Australian academic)
Kathleen Fitzpatrick was an Australian academic and historian.Fitzpatrick was born in the town of Omeo, Victoria in 1905. She was educated at Loreto Convent in South Melbourne and Portland, Presentation Convent in Windsor, and Lauriston Girls' School in Armadale...
- several of these also studied under Crawford.
Crawford was awarded an OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1971 and was awarded an honorary doctorate of letters by the University of Melbourne in 1988. He devoted his retirement to painting and poetry, and died in Melbourne in 1991. His fellow historian John Mulvaney
John Mulvaney
John Mulvaney AO CMG is an Australian archaeologist and known as the "father of Australian Archaeology".Derek John Mulvaney was born in Yarram, Victoria...
wrote on his death: "He elevated the contribution of history by his imaginative leadership in stimulating his staff and students to rewrite the past, and to assist positively in reshaping Australian national life and culture."
Crawford's publications include The Study of History: A Synoptic View (1939), Ourselves and the Pacific (1941), The Renaissance and Other Essays (1945), Australia (1952), An Australian Perspective (1960) and A Bit of a Rebel (1971). In 2005 Faye Anderson published a biography, An Historian's Life: Max Crawford and the Politics of Academic Freedom (Melbourne University Press).