Jan Morris

Jan Morris

CBE FRSL
BornJames Humphry Morris[1]: 4 
(1926-10-02)2 October 1926
Clevedon, Somerset, England
Died20 November 2020(2020-11-20) (aged 94)[2]
Pwllheli, Wales
OccupationWriter
NationalityWelsh
GenreNon-fiction, travel writing
Spouse
Elizabeth Tuckniss
​
(m. 1949)​
Children5

Catharine Jan Morris[3][4] CBE FRSL (born James Humphry Morris; 2 October 1926 – 20 November 2020) was a Welsh historian, author and travel writer. She was known particularly for the Pax Britannica trilogy (1968–1978), a history of the British Empire, and for portraits of cities, including Oxford, Venice, Trieste, Hong Kong and New York City.[5] She published under her birth name, James, until 1972, when she had gender reassignment surgery after transitioning from male to female.[5]

Morris was a member of the 1953 British Mount Everest expedition, which made the first ever confirmed ascent of the mountain.[6] She was the only journalist to accompany the expedition, climbing with the team to a camp at 22,000 feet, and using a prearranged code to send news of the successful ascent, which was announced in The Times on the day of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation (2 June 1953).[7][5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference conundrum was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Travel writer and journalist Jan Morris dies at 94". BBC News. 20 November 2020. Archived from the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  3. ^ Jan Morris, Paul Clements, University of Wales Press, 2008, p. 7
  4. ^ The International Who's Who of Women 2002, 2001, ed. Elizabeth Sleeman, Taylor & Francis, p. 388
  5. ^ a b c "MORRIS, JAN (1926 - 2020), writer | Dictionary of Welsh Biography". biography.wales. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  6. ^ Lea, Richard (20 November 2020). "Jan Morris, historian, travel writer and trans pioneer, dies aged 94". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  7. ^ "Jan Morris: She sensed she was 'at the very end of things'. What a life it was …". The Guardian. 22 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2021.