Ken Inglis

Kenneth Stanley Inglis, (7 October 1929 – 1 December 2017) was an Australian historian.

Early life and education Inglis was born in the Melbourne suburb of Ivanhoe, on 7 October 1929, the son of Stan and Rene Inglis. He was educated at Tyler Street Public School, Northcote Boys' High School and Melbourne High School, before going to study at the University of Melbourne. Inglis participated in the Student Christian Movement and amateur dramatics during his studies, and worked as a tutor at Ormond College. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts with first class honours in History and English, he read for a Master of Arts at Melbourne. Inglis's thesis, which was a history of the Royal Melbourne Hospital, was later revised and published as his first book, Hospital and Community (Melbourne University Press, 1958).

Career

Inglis completed his Master's degree at the University of Melbourne and his doctorate at the University of Oxford. In 1956 he was appointed as a lecturer to the University of Adelaide. He subsequently became Professor of History at the Australian National University, and the University of Papua New Guinea.

Inglis wrote extensively on the Anzac tradition, the Stuart Case, war memorials, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Awards Sacred Places: War Memorials in the Australian Landscape won a number of awards: 1998: FAW Literature Award 1999: The Age Book of the Year and Non-fiction Award 1999: New South Wales Premier's Australian History Prize 1999: Ernest Scott Prize 1999: Centre for Australian Cultural Studies Award, Individual Prize

Death and legacy Inglis died, aged 88, on 1 December 2017 of pancreatic cancer.

Historian Tom Griffiths spoke at the launch of a book of essays about Inglis, titled "I Wonder": The Life and Work of Ken Inglis (edited by Peter Browne and Seumas Spark) at Readings Carlton on 10 March 2020.

Personal life Inglis's first wife, Judy Betharis, was an anthropologist, who nurtured his interest in social, cultural and emotional communities. His younger sister, Shirley Lindenbaum, was the medical anthropologist. After Judy's death in a car accident, Ken married Amirah Turner, a historian. The former Communist and one time Christian socialist, Amirah Inglis and Ken shared half a lifetime of scholarly collaboration and together had six children.