University of Strathclyde | Department of History

• Royal College of Science and Technology, Glasgow | Department of History (1963-1964)
• University of Strathclyde | Department of Economic History (1964-1974)

The Department of History at Strathclyde came into being in the 1960s and rapidly developed throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

In 1959, the Department of Industrial Administration in the Royal College of Science and Technology was beginning to build up an inter-disciplinary team. By 1960 seven academics brought their individual specialisations to the staff: General Studies, Philosophy, History, Geography and Urban Planning and Literature. These staff members were: I.F. Clarke, Christopher Macrae, John Butt, Donald Gordon, Peter Green, Christopher Wiseman and Michael Gregory.

These members of staff, alongside others in the Royal College of Science and Technology, joined the campaign for university status and with it the inclusion of Arts and Social Studies. In 1961 Sir Keith Murray and the University Grants Committee (UGC) accepted the College for university status. The following year, March 1962, the Royal College saw further development, with five new departments created: Economics, Politics, Psychology, Administration and Economic History.

In 1962 Samuel George Edgar Lythe became the founding Professor of Economic History at the Royal College of Science and Technology. In 1963 five members of staff made up the Economic History department: Lythe, John Ward, Richard Wilson, Michael Sanderson, and John Moore. In 1964 the Royal College merged with the Scottish College of Commerce and became the University of Strathclyde. Two members of staff joined the Economic History Department from the College of Commerce: Tom McAloon and Barbara Thatcher. Gordon Jackson also joined in 1964, as did John Butt who introduced American Economic History to the department.

In 1974 the Senate and Court approved Lythe’s request for a new degree course: Modern History was founded in the university. The History department was then able to teach two-degree courses. John T. Ward was appointed as the first Professor of Modern History at Strathclyde. Lythe was also granted approval in 1974 to rename the department. It was no longer Economic History, but the Department of History.

ISAAR(CPF): International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families, International Council on Archives (2nd edition, 2003); Rules for the construction of personal, place and corporate names, National Council on Archives (1997).

Created by Kimberly Sommerville, October 2011.
Further information written and researched by Madeline Robertson, placement student, and uploaded by Rachael Jones, March 2024.

• University of Strathclyde Calendars
• 'History in the University': Address given by Prof. John Butt at the 26th annual proceedings of the 96 Group, 13 June 1979. (D.907.11.41)
• Butt, John. John Anderson's legacy: the University of Strathclyde and its antecedents, 1796-1996 (East Linton, Scotland: Tuckwell Press,1996)
• 'History – courses for teachers 1970-1973' (Reference: OF/25/15/4)