Stuart Macintyre facts for kids

Stuart Forbes Macintyre (born April 21, 1947 – died November 22, 2021) was a very important Australian historian. He was known for studying the history of Australia, especially the lives of working people.

He worked at the University of Melbourne for many years. From 1999 to 2008, he was the Dean of the Faculty of Arts there. Many people considered him one of Australia's most influential historians.

Early Life and Education

Stuart Macintyre was born in Melbourne, Australia, on April 21, 1947. His parents were Forbes and Alison Stevens Macintyre.

He went to Scotch College for his schooling. After that, he studied at the University of Melbourne. He really liked history and earned his first degree in that subject in 1968.

Stuart continued his studies and earned more degrees. He got a Master of Arts degree from Monash University in 1971. Then, he went to the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, where he earned his PhD in 1975. His PhD work was so good that he won the Blackwood Prize.

In 1976, he married Martha Bruton, who was a social anthropologist.

While he was a student at Monash University in the early 1970s, Stuart joined a political group. This group was called the Left Tendency and was part of the Communist Party of Australia. His membership in this group ended when he was studying in the United Kingdom.

When he came back to Australia, he joined the Australian Labor Party. He believed in a political idea called democratic socialism. This idea combines democracy with social equality. As a historian, he was interested in "labour history," which means studying the history of working people and their movements. His PhD supervisor, Henry Pelling, was also a labour historian.

A Career in History and Teaching

Stuart Macintyre had a long and successful career teaching and researching history. He worked in Australia and other countries.

From 1977 to 1978, he was a research fellow at St John's College at the University of Cambridge. This meant he did research there.

In 1979, he returned to Australia and became a lecturer at Murdoch University in Perth. The next year, he moved back to Melbourne and taught at the University of Melbourne until 1981.

He also spent some time as a research fellow at the Australian National University in Canberra from 1982 to 1983. In 1984, he became a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne.

Becoming a Professor

In 1988, Stuart Macintyre became a reader in history at the University of Melbourne. This is a step up from a senior lecturer. Just three years later, in 1991, he became a full professor. He was given a special teaching position called the Ernest Scott chair in history. This chair was named after a famous historian.

In 1999, he was chosen to be the Dean of the Faculty of Arts. This is a very important leadership role in a university. In 2002, he received another high honor, becoming a laureate professor at the University of Melbourne.

Stuart also visited and taught at other universities. These included Griffith University (1986), the University of Canterbury in New Zealand (1988), the University of Western Australia (1988), the Australian National University (1991), and the University of Otago in New Zealand (1992).

Working with Libraries and Research

Stuart Macintyre also helped guide important national institutions. From 1987 to 1996, he was a member of the council for the National Library of Australia (NLA). He was also on the council for the State Library of Victoria (SLV) from 1989 to 1998.

In 2003, he was the chairperson of a panel for the Australian Research Council (ARC). This council helps decide which research projects get funding. In 2005, he spoke out when a government minister stopped some research projects from getting funding, even though experts had already approved them.

Stuart finished his second term as the Dean of Arts in mid-2006. For the 2007–08 school year, he held a special position called the Harvard Chair of Australian Studies. He was also the president of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History. He was also a fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.

Awards and Recognition

Stuart Macintyre received many awards for his important work.

• In 1986, he won the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Australian Studies. This was for his part in writing the fourth volume of the Oxford History of Australia.
• In 1997, he received the Redmond Barry Award from the Australian Library and Information Association. This award recognized his work with the National Library of Australia and the State Library of Victoria.
• His book The Reds won The Age Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award in 1998.
• The History Wars won the 2004 Premier of New South Wales' Australian History Prize.
• His book Australia's Boldest Experiment won the Ernest Scott Prize in 2016. It also won the 2016 NSW Premier's Australian History Prize.

On January 26, 2011, Stuart Macintyre was named an Officer of the Order of Australia. This is a very high honor given to people who have made a big difference to Australia.