Michael McCrum

Michael William McCrum CBE (23 May 1924 – 16 February 2005) was an English academic and ancient historian who served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and Head Master of Tonbridge School and Eton College.

Life and career

McCrum was born at Alverstoke in Hampshire, England. The son of a naval Captain, he grew up at naval bases where his father was stationed. He was educated at Horris Hill School, Newbury and Sherborne School before Second World War service as an able seaman and then sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy.

After graduation, McCrum became a master at Rugby School. He married the daughter of the headmaster, Sir Arthur fforde, in 1952. He also made the Cadet Corps voluntary. The Tonbridgian (the school magazine) wrote in 1967 that "Never have there been so many changes in so short a time".

While at Tonbridge, McCrum was an early supporter of the idea of education vouchers, and he opposed Labour Party proposals for school reform.

He criticised the reduction of the age of majority and the voting age to 18, saying that while they might be outwardly more mature than formerly, 18-year-olds "were still searching for guidance and authority" and "were less aware than formerly of the framework of tradition and the concept of the family community" under the increasing influence of the press and media.

Eton College In 1970, he became Head Master of Eton College, ostensibly a more prestigious position but perhaps one that allowed less initiative or authority than at Tonbridge. Just before leaving Eton he oversaw the final abolition of fagging, as he had at Tonbridge earlier.

As Chairman of the Headmasters' Conference in 1974, McCrum called for greater co-operation between the independent and maintained sectors of education, a co-operation which Eton has maintained under its present Provost.

McCrum banned Nigerian writer Dillibe Onyeama from visiting Eton after the latter alleged having experienced racism at the college. This decision was overturned in approximately 2010.

Corpus Christi College In 1980, McCrum returned to Corpus Christi, Cambridge, as Master, introducing women to the college in 1983. In 1987 he became the last of the University of Cambridge's part-time Vice-Chancellors. He was president of the Cambridge Society from 1989 to 1996.

An Anglican, he was chairman of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England (from 1991) and was a member of the BBC/IBA religious affairs committee (while headmaster of Tonbridge; despite his reforming zeal in other respects, formal daily chapel services remained part of the fabric of school life while he was there; he did make attendance voluntary at Eton).

Honours He was appointed CBE in the 1996 Birthday Honours.

Personal life In addition to a collection of historical documents in Latin and Greek, compiled during his first spell at Corpus Christi, he wrote a biography of Thomas Arnold, the distinguished headmaster of Rugby. McCrum died in Cambridge on 16 February 2005, aged 80. one of whom (Robert McCrum) was Literary Editor of The Observer.

Publications

McCrum, Michael; & Woodhead, A. G. (1966). Select documents of the principates of the Flavian emperors: Including the year of revolution, A.D. 68–96. Cambridge: University Press.