Frederick Alexander (known primarily as Fred Alexander) (12 April 1899 – 1996) was an Australian historian who specialised in foreign affairs and policy. He was the founding Head of the
University of Western Australia's Department of History, where he was instrumental in the development of the history curriculum.[1][2]
During his second year at Balliol, he suffered from a recurrent illness, and in 1923 he was advised by his doctors to take a long sea voyage. That year, he sailed for Melbourne; when his ship docked at
Fremantle, Western Australia, he took the opportunity to visit
Edward Shann, the foundation professor of History and Economics at the University of Western Australia. The following year, after returning to England, receiving the
Herbertson Prize in History along with a M.A., and getting married, he received from Shann an offer of appointment as Assistant Lecturer at the University of Western Australia. He arrived in
Perth in September 1924.
In 1949–50, he spent four months in South Africa as a
Carnegie Fellow, an experience which caused him to concentrate on Commonwealth history.[2] He retired in 1966, and later served as Chairman of the Library Board of Western Australia.[5] The
Alexander Library Building is named after him.
Bibliography
Fred Alexander was the author of a great many works. The following are a few of his better known publications:[6]
Alexander, Fred (1928). From Paris to Locarno, and after: the League of Nations and the search for security, 1919-1928. London: Dent.
Alexander, Fred;
Francis Crowley & John Legge (1954). The origins of the Eastern Goldfields water scheme in Western Australia: an exercise in the interpretation of historical evidence. Nedlands:
University of Western Australia Press.
Alexander, Fred (1967). Australia since federation. Melbourne: Nelson.
Alexander, Fred (1973). From Curtin to Menzies and after: continuity or confrontation?. Melbourne: Thomas Nelson Australia.
Alexander, Fred (1987). On Campus and Off: Reminiscences and Reflections of the First Professor of Modern History in The University of Western Australia, 1916–1986.
University of Western Australia Press. 0855642645.
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abAlexander, Fred (1987). On Campus and Off: Reminiscences and Reflections of the First Professor of Modern History in The University of Western Australia, 1916–1986.
University of Western Australia Press. 0855642645.