Sir (William) Keith Hancock

Sir (William) Keith Hancock KBE (26 June 1898 – 13 August 1988) was Australia's "most distinguished historian".

He was born in Melbourne, Victoria, the son of Archdeacon William Hancock. At the age of nine, he won the Royal Humane Society's medal for rescuing another child from drowning in the Mitchell River. He was educated at Melbourne Grammar School and later the University of Melbourne where he was resident at Trinity College from 1917, winning the Perry Scholarship, Trinity's most prestigious award. Too young to see service in World War I without permission from his parents, it was said that he always felt shame about the fact he could not fight.

As the Australia-at-large Rhodes Scholar for 1921, Hancock went to Balliol College, Oxford in 1922. He graduated in 1924 with a Bachelor of Arts with first class honours in Modern History. He then became the first Australian to gain a Fellowship of All Souls College, Oxford in 1923. After returning to Australia he was Professor of Modern History at the University of Adelaide between 1924 and 1933. On his appointment he was aged only 25, the youngest professor in the British Commonwealth, and one who had held no previous teaching post. In 1930 he published Australia, a book which was well received and notable for its ironic tone, particularly in criticism of Australian institutions such as tariff protection, was highly influential, and is still frequently quoted today.

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