Edward Hallett Carr | |
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| Born | 28 June 1892 London, England |
| Died | 3 November 1982 (aged 90) London, England |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Occupation(s) | Historian · diplomat · International relations theorist · journalist |
| Known for | Contributions to classical realism; studies in Soviet history; outlining radical historiographical principles in his book What Is History? |
| Spouse(s) | Anne Ward Howe Betty Behrens |
| Children | 1 |
Edward Hallett Carr CBE FBA (28 June 1892 – 3 November 1982) was a British historian, diplomat, journalist and international relations theorist, and an opponent of empiricism within historiography. Carr was best known for A History of Soviet Russia, a 14-volume history of the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1929, for his writings on international relations, particularly The Twenty Years' Crisis, and for his book What Is History? in which he laid out historiographical principles rejecting traditional historical methods and practices.
Educated at the Merchant Taylors' School, London, and then at Trinity College, Cambridge, Carr began his career as a diplomat in 1916; three years later, he participated at the Paris Peace Conference as a member of the British delegation. Becoming increasingly preoccupied with the study of international relations and of the Soviet Union, he resigned from the Foreign Office in 1936 to begin an academic career. From 1941 to 1946, Carr worked as an assistant editor at The Times, where he was noted for his leaders (editorials) urging a socialist system and an Anglo-Soviet alliance as the basis of a post-war order.