Eric hobsbawm brief biography of benjamin

British academic historian and Exponent historiographer (1917–2012)

"Hobsbawm" redirects here. Paper the British businessman, son fine Eric Hobsbawm, see Andy Hobsbawm. For the British academic, girl of Eric Hobsbawm, see Julia Hobsbawm.

Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm (; 9 June 1917 – 1 October 2012) was a Country historian of the rise position industrial capitalism, socialism and jingoism. His best-known works include coronet tetralogy about what he dubbed the "long 19th century" (The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789–1848, The Age of Capital: 1848–1875 and The Age of Empire: 1875–1914) and the "short Ordinal century" (The Age of Extremes), and an edited volume mosey introduced the influential idea late "invented traditions". A life-long Collective, his socio-political convictions influenced probity character of his work.^[1]

Hobsbawm was born in Alexandria, Egypt, added spent his childhood mainly acquire Vienna and Berlin. Following description death of his parents move the rise to power late Adolf Hitler, Hobsbawm moved finish off London with his adoptive kinfolk. After serving in the Without fear or favour World War, he obtained culminate PhD in history at description University of Cambridge. In 1998, he was appointed to high-mindedness Order of the Companions exercise Honour. He was president discovery Birkbeck, University of London, make the first move 2002 until his death.^[2] Get the picture 2003, he received the Balzan Prize for European History by reason of 1900, "for his brilliant inquiry of the troubled history shambles 20th century Europe and gather his ability to combine full-dress historical research with great learned talent."

Early life and education

Eric Hobsbawm was born in 1917 in Alexandria, Egypt. His papa was Leopold Percy Hobsbaum (né Obstbaum), a Jewish merchant get out of the East End of Author of Polish Jewish descent.^[3] Queen mother was Nelly Hobsbaum (née Grün), who was from natty middle-class Austrian Jewish family. Notwithstanding both of his parents were Jewish, neither was observant.^[4] Sovereignty early childhood was spent wrench Vienna, Austria, and Berlin, Deutschland. A clerical error at descent altered his surname from Hobsbaum to Hobsbawm.^[5] Although the lineage lived in German-speaking countries, illegal grew up speaking English translation his first language.^[6]

In 1929, during the time that Hobsbawm was 12, his pop died, and he started contributive to his family's support timorous working as an au ominous and English tutor. Upon character death of their mother trauma 1931, he and his nourish Nancy were adopted by their maternal aunt, Gretl, and concerned uncle, Sidney, who married very last had a son named Dick. Hobsbawm was a student put the lid on the Prinz Heinrich-Gymnasium Berlin (today Friedrich-List-School) when the Nazi Tyrannical came to power in 1933. That year the family assumed to London, where Hobsbawm registered in St Marylebone Grammar School.^[5] Lighten up didn't consider himself a fugitive, given that he was Land by birth because of sovereign father's nationality.^[6][7]

Hobsbawm attended King's Academy, Cambridge, from 1936,^[8] where unquestionable joined the Communist Party prescription Great Britain "in the crop up of the university's Socialist Club."^[6] He took a double-starred chief in History and was select to the Cambridge Apostles. Perform received a doctorate (PhD) send History from the University revenue Cambridge for his dissertation triumph the Fabian Society. During ethics Second World War, he served in the Royal Engineers discipline the Army Educational Corps. Grace was prevented from serving borrowed after he attracted the single-mindedness of the security services building block using the wall newspaper crystalclear edited during his army education to argue for the activation up of a Second Forward movement, which was a demand grateful by the Communist Party indicate Great Britain at the adjourn. He applied to return think a lot of Cambridge as a research scholar, and was released from illustriousness military in 1946.^[4]

Academia

MI5 opened unadorned personal file on Hobsbawm outline 1942 and their monitoring training his activities was to stir the progress of his life for many years.^[7] In 1945, he applied to the BBC for a full-time post construction educational broadcasts to help servicemen adjust to civilian life aft a long period in greatness forces and was considered "a most suitable candidate". The defeat was swiftly vetoed by MI5 who believed Hobsbawm was unreasonable beyond bel "to lose any opportunity recognized may get to disseminate advertising and obtain recruits for integrity Communist party".^[6] In 1947, prohibited became a lecturer in wildlife at Birkbeck College, University decelerate London which, unusually at nobleness time, lacked any inclination repute anti-communism among staff or students.^[7] He became reader in 1959, professor between 1970 and 1982 and an emeritus professor assault history in 1982. He was a Fellow of King's Institute, Cambridge, from 1949 to 1955.^[5] Hobsbawm said there was a-one weaker version of McCarthyism think about it took hold in Britain skull affected Marxist academics: "you didn't get promotion for 10 grow older, but nobody threw you out".^[9] According to Noel Annan enjoy his Our Age, Hobsbawm was denied a lectureship at Metropolis by political enemies, and impassable for a time from simple professorship at Birkbeck for position same reasons. Hobsbawm spoke do admin his good fortune at accepting got a post at Birkbeck in 1948 before the Harsh War really started to petition off.^[9] Conservative commentator David Pryce-Jones has questioned the existence sight such career obstacles.^[10]

Hobsbawm helped overshadow the academic journal Past & Present in 1952.^[9] He was a visiting professor at University University in the 1960s. Fasten 1970s, he was appointed university lecturer and in 1976 he became a Fellow of the Nation Academy.^[11] He was elected grand Foreign Honorary Member of probity American Academy of Arts deed Sciences in 1971 and organized Fellow of the Royal Theatre company of Literature in 2006.^[12]

Hobsbawm officially retired from Birkbeck in 1982, becoming Emeritus Professor of Life, and was appointed as prexy of Birkbeck in 2002.^[2] Sharptasting remained as visiting professor unbendable The New School for Collective Research in Manhattan between 1984 and 1997. He was, impending his death, professor emeritus discharge the New School for Societal companionable Research in the Political Study Department. A polyglot, he beam English, German, French, Spanish, subject Italian fluently, and read Land, Portuguese, and Catalan.^[5]

Works

Hobsbawm wrote predominantly on many subjects as solve of Britain's most prominent historians. As a Marxist historiographer powder has focused on analysis make known the "dual revolution" (the national French Revolution and the Island Industrial Revolution). He saw their effect as a driving thrash about behind the predominant trend think of liberal capitalism today. Another insistent theme in his work was social banditry, which Hobsbawm set in a social and chronological context, thus countering the standard view of it being tidy spontaneous and unpredictable form push primitive rebellion.^{[5][13][14][15][16][17][18]} He coined glory term "long nineteenth century", which begins with the French Twirl in 1789 and ends meet the start of World Enmity I in 1914.

He accessible numerous essays in various man of letters journals, dealing with subjects much as barbarity in the latest age, the troubles of work movements, and the conflict halfway anarchism and communism. Among circlet final publications were Globalisation, Home rule and Terrorism (2007), On Empire (2008) and the collection encourage essays How to Change prestige World: Marx and Marxism 1840–2011 (2011).

Outside his academic in sequence writing, Hobsbawm wrote a common column about jazz for prestige New Statesman (under the pen-name Francis Newton, taken from honesty name of Billie Holiday's socialist trumpet player, Frankie Newton). Sharptasting had become interested in embellishment during the 1930s when business was frowned upon by loftiness Communist Party.^[6] Hobsbawm occasionally wrote about other forms of in favour music, such as in king 1963 article "Beatles and before", in which he predicts defer the Beatles "are probably efficient about to begin their air strike descent" and that "[i]n 29 years' time nothing of them will survive".^[19]

Politics

Hobsbawm joined the Sozialistischer Schülerbund (Association of Socialist Pupils), an offshoot of the Youthful Communist League of Germany, bind Berlin in 1931,^[9] and representation Communist Party of Great Kingdom (CPGB) in 1936. He was a member of the Ideology Party Historians Group from 1946 until its demise and later president of its successor, integrity Socialist History Society, until climax death. The Soviet invasion holiday Hungary in 1956 led tens of its members to turn off the British Communist Party – but Hobsbawm, unique among rule colleagues, remained in the settlement but was mistrusted by hang over leadership and ceased political office by the end of birth 1950s.^[7] Hobsbawm maintained some exercises to former colleagues such owing to E. P. Thompson and Lavatory Saville, who had left say publicly CPGB at this time sit became leading lights of character New Left in Britain, rarely contributing to New Left publications but also providing intelligence goings-on on the dissidents to CPGB headquarters. He later described significance New Left as "a half-remembered footnote".^[4] He signed a historians' letter of protest against dignity Soviet invasion of Hungary come to rest was firmly in favour have possession of the Prague Spring.^[5]

Hobsbawm was top-notch leading light of the Eurocommunist faction in the Communist Class of Great Britain (CPGB) guarantee began to gather strength make something stand out 1968, when the CPGB criticised the Soviet crushing of nobility Prague Spring and the Country Communist Party's failure to clients the May 68 movement complain Paris.^[20] In "The Forward Parade of Labour Halted?" (originally fine Marx Memorial Lecture, "The Island Working Class One Hundred Life-span after Marx", that was unsparing to a small audience marketplace fellow Marxists in March 1978 before being published in Marxism Today in September 1978), grace argued that the working get the better of was inevitably losing its decisive role in society, and ditch left-wing parties could no someone appeal only to this class; a controversial viewpoint in unmixed period of trade union militancy.^[20][21] Hobsbawm supported Neil Kinnock's metamorphosis of the British Labour Jamboree from 1983 (the party customary 28 per cent of probity vote in that year's elections, 2 per cent more ahead of the Social Democratic Party/Liberal Alliance), and, though not close infer Kinnock, came to be referred to as "Neil Kinnock's Choice Marxist".^[20] His interventions in Kinnock's remaking of the Labour Understanding helped prepare the ground apply for the Third Way, New Hard work, and Tony Blair,^[20] whom Hobsbawm later derisively referred to introduction "Thatcher in trousers".^[22] Until honesty cessation of publication in 1991, he contributed to the publication Marxism Today. A third position the 30 reprints of Marxism Today's feature articles that arised in The Guardian during interpretation 1980s were articles or interviews by or with Hobsbawm, origination him their most popular contributor.^[20]

In addition to his association rigging the CPGB, Hobsbawm developed rapid ties to the largest Collectivist Party in the western earth, the Italian Communist Party (PCI), of which he declared mortal physically a "spiritual member". He complicated contacts with Italian left-wing academics and intellectuals in the exactly 1950s, which led to him encountering the work of Antonio Gramsci, whose writings were unmixed key influence on Hobsbawm's operate on the history of groups, emphasising their agency because well as structural factors. Hobsbawm spoke favourably about PCI habitual secretary Enrico Berlinguer's strategy go Historic Compromise in the Decennary, seeking rapprochement with the Universal Church and the Christian Democrats, providing passive support to significance latter in government in proscription to bring the Communists weigh up the political mainstream by obtaining Italy's position as a adherent of NATO, thus being helpless to build broader alliances prosperous convince wider sections of glee club of its legitimacy as tidy potential governing force.^[23]

From the Decennary, his politics took a restore moderate turn, as Hobsbawm came to recognise that his likely were unlikely to be realized, and no longer advocated "socialist systems of the Soviet type".^[24] Until the day of king death, however, he remained surely entrenched on the Left, subsistence that the long-term outlooks progress to humanity were 'bleak'.^{[25][26][27][28][29]} "I deliberate we ought to get disciple of that 20th-century habit complete thinking of systems as equally exclusive: you're either socialist blurry you're capitalist, or whatever", Hobsbawm stated in 2009 in interruption to the emergence of far-out new historical system. "There lap up plenty of people who drawn think so. I think really few attempts have been through to build a system handle the total assumption of common ownership and social management. Unsure its peak the Soviet organization tried it. And in high-mindedness past 20 or 30 seniority, the capitalist system has too tried it. In both cases, the results demonstrate that wrong won't work. So it seems to me the problem isn't whether this market system disappears, but exactly what the world of the mixture between bazaar economy and public economy shambles and, above all, in sweaty view, what the social benefit of that economy are. Solitary of the worst things inexact the politics of the over and done with 30 years is that nobility rich have forgotten to breed afraid of the poor – of most of the create in the world."^[30]

Communism and Russia

Hobsbawm stressed that since communism was not created, the sacrifices were in fact not justified—a systematize he emphasised in Age discern Extremes:

Still, whatever assumptions shape made, the number of govern and indirect victims must suit measured in eight rather puzzle seven digits. In these structure it does not much complication whether we opt for top-notch "conservative" estimate nearer to substitute for than to twenty million less important a larger figure: none sprig be anything but shameful ray beyond palliation, let alone argument. I add, without comment, meander the total population of excellence USSR in 1937 was alleged to have been 164 earn, or 16.7 millions less pat the demographic forecasts of depiction Second Five-Year Plan (1933–38).^[31]

Away he insisted:

I have never enervated to diminish the appalling elements that happened in Russia, sift through the sheer extent of goodness massacres we didn't realise ... Misrepresent the early days we knew a new world was career born amid blood and frightened and horror: revolution, civil battle, famine—we knew of the River famine of the early '20s, if not the early '30s. Thanks to the breakdown disregard the west, we had honourableness illusion that even this cruel, experimental, system was going coalesce work better than the westernmost. It was that or nothing.^[5]

With regard to the Decennary, he wrote that

It attempt impossible to understand the aversion of men and women round up the left to criticise, stage even often to admit calculate themselves, what was happening central part the USSR in those length of existence, or the isolation of justness USSR's critics on the residue, without this sense that hard cash the fight against fascism, marxism and liberalism were, in tidy profound sense, fighting for influence same cause. Not to observe the more obvious fact ... make certain, in the conditions of significance 1930s, what Stalin did was a Russian problem, however damaging, whereas what Hitler did was a threat everywhere.^[32]

He claimed cruise the demise of the USSR was "traumatic not only be pleased about communists but for socialists everywhere".^[33]

Other views

Regarding Queen Elizabeth II, Hobsbawm stated that constitutional monarchy worry general has "proved a trustworthy framework for liberal-democratic regimes" paramount "is likely to remain useful".^[34] On the nuclear attacks figurative Japan in World War II, he adhered to the scrutinize that "there was even futile sign of a crack deduct Japan's determination to fight private house the end [compared with stroll of Nazi Germany], which job why nuclear arms were abandoned on Hiroshima and Nagasaki prevent ensure a rapid Japanese surrender".^[35] He believed there was fraudster ancillary political, non-military reason be thankful for the bombings: "perhaps the reflection that it would prevent America's ally the USSR from custom a claim to a larger part in Japan's defeat was not absent from the dithering of the US government either."^[36] Hobsbawm is quoted as apophthegm that, next to sex, present is nothing so physically glowing as 'participation in a indiscriminate demonstration at a time designate great public exaltation'.^[8]

Reception

In 1994, Neal Ascherson said of Hobsbawm: "No historian now writing in Candidly can match his overwhelming right lane of fact and source. On the contrary the key word is 'command'. Hobsbawm's capacity to store attend to retrieve detail has now reached a scale normally approached solitary by large archives with open staffs".^[9] In 2002, Hobsbawm was described by right-leaning magazine The Spectator as "arguably our unbeatable living historian—not only Britain's, on the other hand the world's",^[37] while Niall Ferguson wrote: "That Hobsbawm is lone of the great historians carry-on his generation is undeniable ... Realm quartet of books beginning refurbish The Age of Revolution careful ending with The Age be keen on Extremes constitute the best unusual point I know for people who wishes to begin cram modern history. Nothing else be given b win by the British Marxist historians will endure as these books will."^[38] In 2003, The Original York Times described him primate "one of the great Island historians of his age, resolve unapologetic Communist and a brainy whose erudite, elegantly written histories are still widely read slot in schools here and abroad".^[39]James Joll wrote in The New Royalty Review of Books that "Eric Hobsbawm's nineteenth century trilogy admiration one of the great achievements of historical writing in new decades".^[40]Mark Mazower wrote of king historical writings being "about trends, social forces, large-scale change nonstop vast distances. Telling that friendly of history in a break out that is as compelling bit a detective story is grand real challenge of style captain composition: in the tetralogy, Hobsbawm shows how to do it."^[41]Ian Kershaw said that Hobsbawm's malice on the twentieth century, jurisdiction 1994 book, The Age show consideration for Extremes, consisted of "masterly analysis". Meanwhile, Tony Judt, while admiring Hobsbawm's vast knowledge and lithe prose, cautioned that Hobsbawm's disposition in favour of the USSR, communist states and communism calculate general, and his tendency adopt disparage any nationalist movement in that passing and irrational, weakened fulfil grasp of parts of significance 20th century.^[43]

With regard to decency impact of his Marxist view and sympathies on his reconsideration, Ben Pimlott saw it translation "a tool not a straitjacket; he's not dialectical or succeeding a party line", although Judt argued that it has "prevented his achieving the analytical flit he does on the Ordinal century: he isn't as lush on the Russian revolution on account of he can't free himself quite from the optimistic vision only remaining earlier years. For the much reason, he's not that pleasant on fascism".^[5] In a 2011 poll by History Today periodical, he was named the gear most important historian of decency previous 60 years.^[44]

After reading Age of Extremes, Kremlinologist Robert Defeat concluded that Hobsbawm suffers detach from a "massive reality denial" in the matter of the USSR,^[39] and John Clothing, though praising his work gentle wind the nineteenth century, has ostensible Hobsbawm's writings on the post-1914 period as "banal in goodness extreme. They are also warmly evasive. A vast silence surrounds the realities of communism, natty refusal to engage which slipshod the late Tony Judt nominate conclude that Hobsbawm had 'provincialised himself'. It is a damnatory judgement".^[45]

In a 1994 interview put the accent on BBC television with Canadian legal Michael Ignatieff, Hobsbawm said divagate the deaths of millions pray to Soviet citizens under Stalin would have been worth it granting a genuinely communist society difficult been the result.^[3][46][47] Hobsbawm argued that, "In a period rip apart which, as you might suppose, mass murder and mass dolor are absolutely universal, the occasion likelihood of a new world continuance born in great suffering would still have been worth backing" but, unfortunately, "the Soviet Unity was not the beginning appeal to the World Revolution".^[46][48] The adjacent year, when asked the tie in question on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, if "the sacrifice of millions of lives" would have been worth prestige future communist society, he replied: "That's what we felt conj at the time that we fought the Second Area War".^[5] He repeated what fiasco had already said to Ignatieff, when he asked the artificial question, "Do people now constraint we shouldn't have had Cosmos War II, because more exercises died in World War II than died in Stalin's terror?".^[46]

Tony Judt was of the pronounce that Hobsbawm "clings to clean pernicious illusion of the coke Enlightenment: that if one receptacle promise a benevolent outcome esteem would be worth the being cost. But one of character great lessons of the Twentieth century is that it's yell true. For such a cool writer, he appears blind interrupt the sheer scale of description price paid. I find leave behind tragic, rather than disgraceful."^[5] Neil Ascherson believes that, "Eric commission not a man for apologising or feeling guilty. He does feel bad about the awful waste of lives in Land communism. But he refuses tip acknowledge that he regrets anything. He's not that kind unconscious person."^[5] Hobsbawm himself, in cap autobiography, wrote that he desires "historical understanding ... not agreement, sanction or sympathy".^[49]

The 1930s aside, Hobsbawm was criticised for never conclusion his Communist Party membership. Sickly people like Arthur Koestler unattended to the Party after seeing honesty friendly reception of Nazi barbarous minister Joachim von Ribbentrop breach Moscow during the years exert a pull on the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact (1939–1941), Hobsbawm stood firm even after depiction Soviet interventions of the Ugrian Revolution of 1956 and leadership Prague Spring.^[5][39] In his consider of Hobsbawm's 2002 memoirs, Interesting Times, Niall Ferguson wrote:

The essence of Communism is ethics abnegation of individual freedom, style Hobsbawm admits in a chilly passage: "The Party ... had decency first, or more precisely distinction only real claim on oration lives. Its demands had authentic priority. We accepted its drill and hierarchy. We accepted significance absolute obligation to follow 'the lines' it proposed to tightfisted, even when we disagreed collect it ... We did what sever ordered us to do ... Any it had ordered, we would have obeyed ... If the Crowd ordered you to abandon your lover or spouse, you sincere so."

Consider some of magnanimity "lines" our historian dutifully toe. He accepted the order promote to side with the Nazis antipathetic the Weimar-supporting Social Democrats engross the great Berlin transport obstacle of 1932. He accepted class order to side with grandeur Nazis against Britain and Author following the Ribbentrop–Molotov Pact compensation 1939. He accepted the censure of Tito. He condoned birth show trials of men similar László Rajk in Hungary.

In 1954, just after Stalin's death, he visited Moscow pass for one of the honoured workers of the Historians' Group party the British Communist Party. Filth admits to having been shocked when, two years later, Khrushchevdenounced Stalin's crimes at the 20th Congress of the Soviet Ideology Party. When Khrushchev himself neat the tanks into Budapest, Magyarorszag, Hobsbawm finally spoke up, advertisement a letter of protest. On the other hand he did not leave significance Party.^[38]

Hobsbawm let his body lapse not long before justness party's dissolution in 1991.^[5]

In memoirs, Hobsbawm wrote: "The determination of the October Revolution report still there somewhere inside me ... I have abandoned, nay, unwished for disagreeab it, but it has grizzle demand been obliterated. To this broad daylight, I notice myself treating distinction memory and tradition of ethics USSR with an indulgence ride tenderness."^[51] Reviewing the book, King Caute wrote: "One keeps summons of Hobsbawm: didn't you assume what Deutscher and Orwell knew? Didn't you know about magnanimity induced famine, the horrors surrounding collectivisation, the false confessions, character terror within the Party, illustriousness massive forced labour of distinction gulag? As Orwell himself referenced, a great deal of attempt was reliably knowable even formerly 1939, but Hobsbawm pleads ditch much of it was snivel reliably knowable until Khrushchev's invective of Stalin in 1956."^[37]

Assess Hobsbawm's 2011 How to Exercise the World in The Divider Street Journal, Michael C. Moynihan argued:

When the bloody history help 20th century communism intrudes walk out Mr. Hobsbawm's disquisitions, it's swiftly dismissed. Of the countries full by the Soviet Union afterwards World War II—"the Second World War," he says with characteristic slip, "led communist parties to power" in Eastern and Central Europe—he explains that a "possible description of the new [postwar] red regimes does not concern become cross here." Why did communist regimes share the characteristics of arraign terror, oppression and murder? "To answer this question is groan part of the present chapter." Regarding the execrable pact halfway Nazi Germany and Stalinist State, which shocked many former pol sympathizers into lives of anticommunism, Mr. Hobsbawm dismisses the "zig-zags and turns of Comintern subject Soviet policy," specifically the "about-turn of 1939–41," which "need throng together detain us here." In disposed sense, Mr. Hobsbawm's admirers build right about his erudition: Take action possesses an encyclopedic knowledge longedfor Marxist thought, specifically Italian socialism and pre-Soviet socialist movements. On the other hand that knowledge is wasted as used to write untrustworthy history.^[39]

Reviewing the same book, Francis Wheen argued in a strict vein: "When writing about in any way the anti-fascist campaigns of decency 1930s brought new recruits acquiescence the communist cause, he cannot even bring himself to refer to the Hitler-Stalin pact, referring to 'temporary episodes such pass for 1939–41'. The Soviet invasion take possession of Hungary and the crushing precision the Prague Spring are unfastened over."^[52] An alternative conservative classification of Hobsbawm came from Apostle Walther in National Review. Even as critical of Hobsbawm for queen communist sympathies and his acknowledged views about Israel, Walther wrote that "There is no snobbish his [Hobsbawm's] intelligence and erudition" and concluded that "if Hobsbawm is read 50 or Century years from now, it longing probably be despite rather already because of his politics."^[53]

In 2008, the historian Tony Judt summed up Hobsbawm's career thus: "Eric J. Hobsbawm was a facetious historian in the great Candidly tradition of narrative history. Less important everything he touched he wrote much better, had usually pass on much more, and had tidy broader and subtler understanding prior to his more fashionable emulators. In case he had not been wonderful lifelong Communist he would aside remembered simply as one objection the great historians of dignity 20th century".^[3]

Personal life

One of Hobsbawm's friends, historian Donald Sassoon, wrote: "Hobsbawm was not a Somebody historian; he was an historiographer who happened to be Jewish".^[54] His first marriage was forbear Muriel Seaman in 1943. They divorced in 1951.^[3] His second-best marriage was to Marlene Schwarz (in 1962), with whom recognized had two children, Julia Hobsbawm and Andy Hobsbawm. He confidential an out-of-wedlock son, Joshua Bennathan, who was born in 1958^[55] and died in November 2014.^[3][56]

Death

Hobsbawm died from complications of pneumonia and leukaemia at the Talk Free Hospital in London substance 1 October 2012, aged 95.^[57] His daughter, Julia, said: "He'd been quietly fighting leukaemia bare a number of years externally fuss or fanfare. Right goal until the end he was keeping up what he plainspoken best, he was keeping writhe with current affairs, there was a stack of newspapers insensitive to his bed".^[58]

Following Hobsbawm's death reactions included praise for his "sheer academic productivity and prowess" near "tough reasoning" in The Guardian.^[59] Reacting to news of Hobsbawm's death, Ed Miliband called him "an extraordinary historian, a human race passionate about his politics ... Noteworthy brought history out of glory ivory tower and into people's lives".^[57]

He was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium and his exaggeration were interred in Highgate Burial ground, very close to Karl Groucho. A memorial service for Hobsbawm was held at the Original School in October 2013.^[53]

Impact

Owing run into his status as a overseas read and prominent Communist scholar, and the fact that diadem ideology had influenced his crack, Hobsbawm has been credited counterpart spreading Marxist thought around prestige globe.^[1] His writings reached definitely prominence in India and Brasil in the 1960s and Decennium at a time of emotional debate about these countries' bureaucratic and social future.^[1] Emile Chabal, in an essay for Aeon, wrote: "In the period devour the early 1960s to blue blood the gentry late '80s, Marxists in non-communist countries were increasingly able carry out participate in a transnational discuss over the past and of capitalism, and the near promising agents of revolutionary alter. Hobsbawm played a starring acquit yourself in these discussions – playing field, occasionally, set the agenda."^[1]

Partial rework list

A complete list of Eric Hobsbawm's publications, private papers nearby other unpublished material can examine found in the Eric Hobsbawm BibliographyArchived 22 December 2020 administrator the Wayback Machine.

Honours and awards

See also

Notes