Asa Briggs was born in Keighley, Yorkshire, 7 May 1921, the son of William Walker Briggs and Jane Briggs. He was educated at Keighley Grammar School and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, BA, 1941; he also took an external degree at London University, BSc Economics, 1941. He married Susan Anne Banwell, 1955, with whom he had two sons and two daughters.

He served in the Intelligence Corps, 1942-5. He was a fellow of Worcester College, Oxford, 1945-55; Reader in Recent Social and Economic History, Oxford University, 1950-5; a faculty fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford, 1953-5; a member of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, 1953-4; and Professor of Modern History, Leeds University, 1955-61.

He was Professor of History, 1961-76, Dean of the School of Social Studies, 1961-5, Pro Vice-Chancellor, 1961-7, and Vice-Chancellor, 1967-76, of Sussex University. He became Provost of Worcester College, Oxford, 1976-91, and Chancellor of the Open University, 1978-94.

He was created a life peer, as Lord Briggs of Lewes, 1976. He is an honorary fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, 1968-; Worcester College, Oxford, 1969-; and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, 1977-.

His publications include: (with Thomson and Meyer) "Patterns of Peace-making" (1945); "History of Birmingham 1865-1938" (1952); "Victorian People" (1954); "Friends of the People" (1956); "The Age of Improvement" (1959); editor, "Chartist Studies" (1959); (with John Saville) editor, "Essays in Labour History", 3 volumes (1960-77); editor, "They Saw it Happen, 1897-1940" (1961); "A Study of the Work of Seebohm Rowntree, 1871-1954" (1961); "History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom", 5 volumes (1961-95); "Victorian Cities" (1963); "William Cobbett" (1967); "How They Lived, 1700-1815" (1969); editor, "The Nineteenth Century" (1970); (with Susan Briggs) editor, "Cap and Bell" (1972); editor, "Essays in the History of Publishing" (1974); "Iron Bridge to Crystal Palace: impact and images of the Industrial Revolution" (1979); "Governing the BBC" (1979); "The Power of Steam" (1982); "Marx in London" (1982); "A Social History of England" (1983); "Toynbee Hall" (1984); "Collected Essays", 3 volumes (1985-91); "The BBC: the first fifty years" (1985); (with Joanna Spicer) "The Franchise Affair" (1986); "Victorian Things" (1988); "Haut Brion" (1994); "The Channel Islands, Occupation and Liberation, 1940-5" (1995); joint editor, "Fins de Siècle: how centuries end 1400-2000" (1996); (with Patricia Clavin) "Modern Europe 1789-1989" (1997); "Chartism" (1998); "Go To It! victory on the Home Front 1939-1945" (2000); "Michael Young, Social Entrepreneur" (2001); and (with Peter Burke) "A Social History of the Media" (2002).