Helmut Koenigsberger
H. G. Koenigsberger early modern history |
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Helmut Georg Koenigsberger FBA (24 October 1918 – 8 March 2014) was a German-born British historian and academic. He was Professor of History at King's College London from 1973 to 1984 and head of its history department.[1][2]
Early life
Koenigsberger was born in
From 1934, Koenigsberger was educated at Adams' Grammar School, Newport, an all-boys grammar school in Newport, Shropshire, England, before going on to study history at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, from 1937 to 1940.[1][4] On 12 May 1940, just before he was due to sit his Part II Tripos exams (i.e., his 'finals'), he was designated an enemy alien by the British government and sent to a camp on the Isle of Wight and then on to a camp in Canada.[1][5] While in Canada, it was explained to him that "it would be easier to help him if he were Jewish" and a Jewish organisation offered him help only if he "reconverted to Judaism".[1] After eight months internment, he was allowed to return to the UK.[5] By this stage the University of Cambridge had awarded him a "war degree" on the basis of his Part I exam results only, thereby denying him the possibility of attaining a double first class honours degree and, with it, a postgraduate scholarship - things that he could have achieved if he hadn't been interned.[5]
Koenigsberger spent a short period as a schoolmaster at
Academic career
Koenigsberger's academic career began while he was still a PhD student at Cambridge, during which he had two articles published.
Koenigsberger joined
He was Professor of Modern History at the University of Nottingham from 1960 to 1966, before moving to the United States of America where he was Professor of Early Modern History at Cornell University from 1966 to 1973. He returned to the United Kingdom in 1973 and served as Professor of History at King's College London until his retirement in 1984.[9] His research covered early modern Europe,[2] and he is credited with its establishment as "a distinct and unified field of study".[1] He is also credited with developing the idea of "composite monarchy" (or "composite state").[2]
Personal life
In 1961, Koenigsberger married Dorothy M. Romano.[4] Together they had twin daughters, Laura and Francesca.[1][4]
Koenigsberger was a keen violinist, and fell badly protecting his violin. This fall preceded his death, and he died on 8 March 2014, aged 95.[1][5]
Honours
Koenigsberger was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) in 1989.[9] He was made a Commander of the Order of Isabella the Catholic by the King of Spain in 1997.[4] He was made an Honorary Fellow of King's College (FKC) in 1999, the highest award that can be bestowed upon an individual by King's College London.[4]
Bibliography
His publications include:[9]
- The Government of Sicily under Philip II of Spain: A Study in the Practice of Empire (Staples Press, 1951).
- amended and reprinted as The Practice of Empire (Cornell University Press, 1969).
- "The Empire of Charles V in Europe", in G. R. Elton (ed.), The New Cambridge Modern History, vol. 2 (Cambridge 1958), pp. 301–33
- "Decadence or Shift? Changes in the Civilization of Italy and Europe in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries", Royal Historical Society, 5.10 (1960).
- "Western Europe and the Power of Spain", in R. B. Wernham (ed.), The New Cambridge Modern History, vol. 3 (1968), pp. 234–318
- with G. L. Mosse, Europe in the Sixteenth Century (Cornell University Press, 1968); 2nd ed. with G. L. Mosse & G.Q. Bowler (Longman, 1989), "A General History of Europe" series.
- Estates and Revolutions: Essays in Early Modern European History (Cornell University Press, 1971).
- The Habsburgs and Europe 1516-1660 (Cornell University Press, 1971).
- "The Statecraft of Philip II", European Studies Review, 1 (1971), 1–22
- "The Unity of the Church and the Reformation", Journal of Interdisciplinary History 1 (1971), 407–17 online
- Luther: A Profile (editor, 1973), "World Profiles" series.
- "Republics and Courts in Italian and European Culture in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries." Past & Present, no.83 (1979): 32-56 online.
- Politicians and Virtuosi: Essays in Early Modern History (Hambledon Press, 1986).
- A History of Europe, vol. 1: Medieval Europe 400-1500; vol. 2: Early Modern Europe 1500-1789 (Longman, 1987); vol. 3 by Asa Briggs.
- "Composite States, Representative Institutions and the American Revolution." Institute of Historical Research, 62.148 (1989): 135–153
- "Prince and States General: Charles V and the Netherlands", Royal Historical Society, 6.4 (1994).
- Monarchies, States Generals and Parliaments: The Netherlands in the 15th and 16th Centuries (Cambridge University Press, 2001).
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Rodríguez-Salgado, Mía (26 March 2014). "Helmut Koenigsberger obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
- ^ a b c "Professor Helmut Koenigsberger". Faculty of Arts & Humanities. King's College London. 11 March 2014. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- S2CID 72026412.
- ^ Who's Who & Who Was Who. Vol. 2019 (online ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the British Academy. XIV. The British Academy: 301–333. 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- The Cambridge Historical Journal, 8 (1946), 129–44
- ^ H. G. Koenigsberger ‘English merchants in Naples and Sicily in the seventeenth century’, The English Historical Review, 62 (1947), 304–26.23
- ^ Koenigsberger, Helmut Georg (1951). The Government of Sicily Under Philip II of Spain: A Study in the Practice of Empire. London: Staples Press.
- ^ a b c d "KOENIGSBERGER, Professor Helmut (24/10/1918-08/03/2014)". British Academy Fellows. British Academy. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
Further reading
- Koenigsberger, H. G. "Fragments of an unwritten biography," in P. Alter (ed.), Out of the Third Reich: Refugee Historians in Post-War Britain (1998), pp. 99–117.
- Rodriguez-Salgado, Maria-Jose. "Koenigsberger, Helmut Georg, 1918-2014." Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the British Academy 14 (2015): 301-333 online.