Kenneth Owen Morgan, Baron Morgan (born 16 May 1934) is a Welsh historian and author, known especially for his writings on Modern British history and politics and on Welsh history. He is also a regular reviewer and broadcaster on radio and television.
He was a Fellow of Queen's College, Oxford from 1966 to 1989 and served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wales from 1989 to 1995. In this capacity, he served as a Welsh Supernumerary Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford from 1991 to 1992. In 1983 he was elected Fellow of the British Academy and in 1992 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Queen's College, Oxford, and in 2002 of Oriel College, Oxford. Morgan is a member of the Labour Party, and in 2000 he was made a life peer as Baron Morgan, of Aberdyfi in the County of Gwynedd. He was married to the historian and criminologist Dr Jane Morgan, who died in 1992; they had two children together. In 2009 he married Dr. Elizabeth Gibson, senior lecturer in Law at the universities of Tours and Bordeaux.
He is the author of many acclaimed works, such as The People's Peace, his notable history of postwar Britain, and has completed biographies of many famous politicians, including David Lloyd George, Keir Hardie, James Callaghan and Michael Foot. He is the editor of the best-selling The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, to which he contributed the two final chapters (1914–2000 and 2000–10). He also edited the Welsh History Review from 1961 to 2003. He became a Druid of the Gorsedd of Bards in 2008 and in 2009 received the gold medal from the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion for lifetime achievement. He is also a Founding Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Gareth Owen |
Principal, then Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wales Aberystwyth 1989-1995 |
Succeeded by Derec Llwyd Morgan |