Peter Dickson (1929-2021)

St Catherine’s College is saddened to share the news that Professor Peter Dickson, Emeritus Fellow of St Catherine’s, has died aged 92.

Professor Dickson first came to Oxford for his undergraduate studies. He attended Worcester College, where he stayed for his DPhil in history, choosing to focus his research on the public debt in England in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1954, he was awarded a two-year research fellowship at Nuffield College.

He was appointed as Tutor in History at St Catherine’s Society in 1955 and, five years later, was made a Founding Fellow as the Society became St Catherine’s College.

In 1978 he was appointed as a Reader in Modern History at the University, before gaining promotion to the post of Professor of Modern History eleven years later. Upon his retirement in 1996, he was elected Emeritus Fellow of St Catherine’s in recognition of his dedication to the College, including a time as Vice-Master.

As well as his contributions to the study of history, including authoring a number of books, Professor Dickson also played a significant role in the history of the College: its crest was designed based on sketches jointly made by him in the summer of 1962.

In recognition of his contribution to the field of early modern history he was elected Fellow of both the British Academy and the Royal Historical Society.

The College’s flag is flying at half mast to mark his passing.