Charles Wilson (historian)

Charles Henry Wilson CBE[1] (16 April 1914 - 1 August 1991)[1] was an English business historian.[2] His best known work is his multi-volume history of Unilever, which is credited with establishing corporate history as a subject worthy of academic attention in the UK.[2]

Biography

Wilson was born in Market Rasen in Lincolnshire, and educated at De Aston Grammar School.[1] His forebears included small farmers and small businessmen, which contributed to his scepticism of the Marxism that was fashionable during the 1930s.[3]

Wilson went on to Jesus College, Cambridge.[1]

The first two volumes of his three volume history of Unilever were published in 1954.[4]

Wilson was professor of modern history at Cambridge University from 1965 to 1979.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Prof Charles Wilson". The Times. 8 August 1991.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Peter Mathias, ‘Wilson, Charles Henry (1914–1991)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 10 Aug 2014
  3. ↑ Harris, Ian (3 August 1991). "Obituary: Professor Charles Wilson". The Independent.
  4. ↑ http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam033/2002031343.pdf