The Queen's College Record 2023

College and Max Beloff of Nuffield College. It continues as a special subject in revised
form – “Slavery, Emancipation and the Ordeal of the Union.” The teaching of American
history had expanded beyond the classes of the Harmsworth Professor and would
later embrace other topics that Henry Pelling and Kenneth Morgan taught at Queen’s.
Despite a heart attack, Allan Nevins returned as Harmsworth Professor for 1964-1965
and played a part in the growing interest in American studies in Oxford and beyond.
In 1969 Herbert Nicholas became the first Rhodes Professor of American history.
Articles
Adjusting to a collegiate university and its particular practices was a challenge for
Harmsworth professors but most of them seemed to enjoy their term of office. While
some, such as Merrill Jensen (1949-1950), were put off by what they saw as Oxford’s
odd ways, others agreed with C. Vann Woodward (1954-1955) – “rich fun and rare
delight.” He noted, “One can write one’s own ticket here as in no other place I know.”
At Queen’s he enjoyed “pleasant company … Food and wine are excellent. Among
the very best in Oxford, and I sampled pretty widely.” John Lewis Gaddis (1991-1992)
also recorded the fun of dining at Queen’s and the other colleges.
Harmsworth professors were given a room at Queen’s (staircase 1A, room 3), though
verdicts were mixed about its suitability. A better-appointed office became available,
following the creation of the Rothermere American Institute in 2001. Accommodation
was a recurring problem until a house, 14 Dunstan Road, Headington, was purchased
by the Rothermere Foundation in 1969. It was available rent-free, which helped to
alleviate the significant disparity between the Harmsworth and US academic salaries.
In 1977 Willie Lee Rose of Johns Hopkins University became the first female
Harmsworth Professor, though she was not a fellow of Queen’s, since the college
was a men’s college until 1979. A hasty arrangement was made for her to become a
fellow of St Hilda’s College. The first woman to be Harmsworth Professor and a fellow
of Queen’s was Joyce O. Appleby of UCLA in 1990. The current holder, Elizabeth
Varon of the University of Virginia, is the ninth woman to hold the chair.
Credit: Tom Weller
Harmsworth Professorship Centenary Celebration 2023
College Record 2023 | The Queen’s College 91