Hugh R. Trevor-Roper

Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper was born at Glanton, England on January 15, 1914. He studied modern history at Christ Church, Oxford, and soon afterwards he published a study of Archbishop Laud. During the World War II, he worked in British intelligence. In 1945, he was assigned by his superiors to write a report on the death of Hitler, which became The Last Days of Hitler. After the war, he taught history at Christ Church, where he was made Regius Professor of Modern History from 1957 to 1980. In 1979, Margaret Thatcher made Trevor-Roper a life peer as Lord Dacre of Glanton. He was then Master of Peterhouse College, Cambridge from 1980 until he retired in 1987. Trevor-Roper's scholarly reputation suffered in April 1983 when he authenticated about 60 volumes said to be Hitler's diaries, which turned out to be falsified. His other works included The Rise of Christian Europe, The European Witch Craze of the 16th and 17th Centuries, From Counter Reformation to Glorious Revolution, and The Philby Affair. He died on January 26, 2003 at the age of 89.