Fred Alexander

Frederick Alexander (known primarily as Fred Alexander) (12 April 1899 – 17 March 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.

Biography The son of a primary school headmaster, Fred Alexander was born in Victoria on 12 April 1899. during his studies at the University of Melbourne, where he intended to gain a Bachelor of Laws degree. However, he developed an interest in history under the influence of Professor Ernest Scott, and deferred his law studies to obtain a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in history. He then completed his third year of law studies, but in 1920 he won an Orient Line scholarship that enabled him to pursue studies at Balliol College, Oxford.

In 1949–50, he spent four months in South Africa as a Carnegie Fellow, an experience which caused him to concentrate on Commonwealth history. The Alexander Library Building is named after him. He died on 17 March 1996.