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Alfred Cobban
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Alfred Cobban
Alfred Bert Carter Cobban (24 May 1901 – 1 April 1968) was an English historian and Professor of French History at University College, London, who along with prominent French historian François Furet advocated a classical liberal view of the French Revolution.
Born in London, Cobban was educated at Latymer Upper School and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. Before his professorship at University College London, he was a lecturer in history at King's College in Newcastle-on-Tyne (now part of Newcastle University). He held a Rockefeller Fellowship for research in France and was a visiting professor at the University of Chicago and Harvard University.
An editor of History magazine, Cobban also published articles in the English Historical Review, the Political Science Quarterly, International Affairs and other historical and political journals.
A photograph of Alfred Cobban, a complete list of his publications, and an essay on his life and work by C.V. Wedgwood, may be found in 'French Government and Society 1500–1850: Essays in Memory of Alfred Cobban', ed. J.F. Bosher (London, The Athlone Press of the University of London, 1973), 336 pp. The essays in this volume were all written by his students, except one by his friend, George Rudé.
Cobban died in London on 1 April 1968.
In 1954 Cobban used his inaugural lecture as professor of French history at University College London to attack what he called the "social interpretation" of the French Revolution. The lecture was later published as "The Myth of the French Revolution" (1955).
Cobban and Furet believed that the Revolution did little to change French society, in direct opposition to the orthodox Marxist school, which saw the Revolution as the rise of the bourgeoisie and proletariat against the nobility and the transition from feudalism to capitalism, making it a symbol of progress.
He believed traditional landowners and the middle class wanted access to political power. He had a predominantly negative view on the incumbent system. Cobban claimed that the quality of daily life after the Revolution remained basically unchanged, identifying that:
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Alfred Cobban
Alfred Bert Carter Cobban (24 May 1901 – 1 April 1968) was an English historian and Professor of French History at University College, London, who along with prominent French historian François Furet advocated a classical liberal view of the French Revolution.
Born in London, Cobban was educated at Latymer Upper School and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. Before his professorship at University College London, he was a lecturer in history at King's College in Newcastle-on-Tyne (now part of Newcastle University). He held a Rockefeller Fellowship for research in France and was a visiting professor at the University of Chicago and Harvard University.
An editor of History magazine, Cobban also published articles in the English Historical Review, the Political Science Quarterly, International Affairs and other historical and political journals.
A photograph of Alfred Cobban, a complete list of his publications, and an essay on his life and work by C.V. Wedgwood, may be found in 'French Government and Society 1500–1850: Essays in Memory of Alfred Cobban', ed. J.F. Bosher (London, The Athlone Press of the University of London, 1973), 336 pp. The essays in this volume were all written by his students, except one by his friend, George Rudé.
Cobban died in London on 1 April 1968.
In 1954 Cobban used his inaugural lecture as professor of French history at University College London to attack what he called the "social interpretation" of the French Revolution. The lecture was later published as "The Myth of the French Revolution" (1955).
Cobban and Furet believed that the Revolution did little to change French society, in direct opposition to the orthodox Marxist school, which saw the Revolution as the rise of the bourgeoisie and proletariat against the nobility and the transition from feudalism to capitalism, making it a symbol of progress.
He believed traditional landowners and the middle class wanted access to political power. He had a predominantly negative view on the incumbent system. Cobban claimed that the quality of daily life after the Revolution remained basically unchanged, identifying that: