Norman Davies

British historian · United Kingdom · On the map · Writers · Born 1939 · age 87

Ivor Norman Richard Davies is a British and Polish historian, known for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland and the United Kingdom.

Norman Davies is read about 185 times a day, in 34 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 105 days, one point a day.

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A life in dates

2014Fellow of the Royal Society of LiteratureAward2012Order of the White Eagle (Third Polish Republic)Award2011“On reading somewhere that the Welsh name for 'England', Lloegr, meant 'the Lost Land', I fell for the fancy, imagining what a huge sense of loss and forgetting the name expresses.”In their wordsIntroduction (p. 2)Read the whole statement

“The difference between a referendum and a plebiscite is a fine one. Both pertain to collective decisions made by the direct vote of all qualified adults.”In their wordsCh. 8: Sabaudia (p. 423)Read the whole statement

“The immediate future may be determined by a race between the United Kingdom and the EU over which beats the other to a major crisis.”In their wordsCh. 14: Éire (p. 681)Read the whole statement

Fellow of the Learned Society of WalesAward2001Andrzej Drawicz AwardAward1996“For more than five hundred years the cardinal problem in defining Europe has centred on the inclusion or exclusion of Russia.”In their wordsIntroduction (p. 10)Read the whole statement

“Arguably, the only fruit of the Crusades kept by the Christians was the apricot.”In their wordsCh. 5: Medium (p. 358)Read the whole statement

“It is indeed the duty of historians to stress the contrast between the standards of the past and the standards of the present. Some fulfil that duty on purpose, others by accident.”In their wordsCh. 7: Renatio (p. 509)Read the whole statement

1939Born8 June 1939

Also in Deutsch

Media & music

Photos 2

Davies, Warsaw, 2004

In their own words 4

Norman Davies

4 statements, newest first

All the nations that ever lived have left their footsteps in the sand.
2011 · Ch. 7: Borussia (p. 393), Own words
That the United Kingdom will collapse is a foregone conclusion.
2011 · Ch. 14: Éire (p. 679), Own words
Reconstructing the past is rather like translating poetry. It can be done, but never exactly.
1996 · Ch. 1: Peninsula (p. 83), Own words

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Awards

Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature2014

Order of the White Eagle (Third Polish Republic)2012

Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales2011

Andrzej Drawicz Award2001

Golden Medal for Merit to Culture

Fellow of the British Academy

Fellow of the Royal Historical Society

Honorary Citizen of Wrocław

Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland

Honorary doctor of the University of Gdańsk

Honorary Doctor of the University of Warsaw

Honorary Doctor of the Jagiellonian University of Krakow

Honorary Doctor of the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University

Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 3rd Class

Saint George medal

Knight of the Order of Polonia Restituta

Bene Merito

Polonia Mater Nostra Est

About this person

He has a special interest in Central and Eastern Europe and is UNESCO Professor at the Jagiellonian University, professor emeritus at University College London, a visiting professor at the Collège d'Europe, and an honorary fellow at St Antony's College, Oxford. He was granted Polish citizenship in 2014.

Country

United Kingdom