Henry Chilver, Baron Chilver

Amos Henry Chilver, Baron Chilver (30 October 1926 – 8 July 2012) was a British engineer and politician.

Early life and career Chilver was born in Barking, Essex, to Amos Henry Chilver and his wife Annie E. Mack. After attending Southend High School for Boys, he took up a place at the University of Bristol, where he gained a BSc in Mechanical Engineering in 1947. He gained a PhD in Civil Engineering in 1951, and a DSc in 1962. Between 1961 and 1969, he was Chadwick Professor of Civil Engineering at University College London. Between 1970 and 1989 he was Vice-Chancellor of Cranfield University.

In the early 1980s, he was Chairman of the Northern Ireland Higher Education Review Group, which was tasked with producing a report called the Chilver Report on how to unify the Initial teacher education (ITE) used in Northern Ireland. He was the Chairman of the Post Office between 1980 and 1981. In 1983, he succeeded Lord Campbell as Chairman of the Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC). Between 1992 and 1995 he was Chairman of English China Clays, and on 25 February 1993, he was appointed Chairman of RJB Mining. He has also been a director of ICI. He held honorary DScs from the University of Leeds (1982), the University of Bristol (1983), the University of Buckingham, the University of Bath (1986) and the University of Technology of Compiègne.

In 1987, he was made a life peer as Baron Chilver, of Cranfield in the County of Bedfordshire, and he was introduced to the House of Lords on 15 July.

Personal life In 1959 he married Dr Claudia Grigson, the sister of Christopher Grigson and they had five children: Helen, Sarah, John, Mark and Paul.

Published works Problems in Engineering Structures with R S Ashby (1958) Strength of Materials with J Case (1959)