Donald Henshaw Pennington (15 June 1919[1][2] – 28 December 2007[3]) was a historian of 17th-century England. He taught at Manchester and Oxford universities, becoming a tutor at Balliol College, Oxford in 1965.[3]
Donald was born in Marple, Greater Manchester, near Stockport.[2] His father, Frederick Pennington, was the Headmaster of the Albert Schools in Marple when Donald was born. His mother Gladys (nee Prentice) also taught at Marple School. Donald's mother was a sister of Frederick's first wife, Clara Prentice. Frederick and Clara Prentice were married on 3 August 1905 at Marple,[4] however, Clara died in 1915.[5] Donald's parents were then married in Marple on 30 August 1918. By 1931 his father had become Headmaster of the Willows School.[6][7]
On the 23 1955 he spoke on a forty five minute radio broadcast programme with Veronica Wedgwood and Hugh Trevor-Roper, about the causes of the English Civil War.[8] There was a follow-up programme broadcast four days later.[9] Winston Churchill also consulted Donald about the origins of the English Civil War. He was rewarded with signed copies of the first two volumes of Churchill's A History of the English-Speaking Peoples.[10]
In 1956 Donald was actively engaged in the work of the National Committee for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons Tests which was a precursor of the CND.[10] He became a founding member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and was involved with that organisation from the outset. Donald served as the north-west regional secretary, and a member of the national executive.[3]
His works include Europe in the Seventeenth Century, Members of the Long Parliament (with D. Bruton) and Puritans and Revolutionaries, Essays Presented to Christopher Hill (with Keith Thomas).
References
edit- ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
- ^ a b "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008, Vol. 8A, Page 4, Line 4." Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ a b c "Donald Pennington: Leading English historian and founder member of CND." The Guardian. Martin Kettle, 21 February 2008. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ "Interesting Wedding At Marple. Pennington - Prentice". Stockport Advertiser and Guardian. 4 August 1905. p. 5. Retrieved 20 August 2024 – via Findmypast.
- ^ "Deaths". Alderley & Wilmslow Advertiser. 11 June 1915. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Albert Schools - Heritage." Archived 6 July 2022 at the Wayback Machine Marple Local History Society Website. Neil Mullineux, January 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ "Stories of People - Albert Schools Postcript." Archived 7 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine Marple Local History Society Website. Neil Mullineux, May 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ^ "THE CAUSES OF THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR:1.Differences of Emphasis" Third Programme. 23 March 1955. Radio Times, Issue 1636. p.31: BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ "THE CAUSES OF THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR:2.Differences of Method." Third Programme. 27 March 1955. Radio Times, Issue 1637. p.13: BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ a b Donald Pennington. John Prest.