Richard Thorpe was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, 12 March 1943, the son of Cyril Thorpe and Mary Avison. He was educated at Fettes College, Edinburgh, 1956-61, and Selwyn College, Cambridge, 1962-5. He taught history at Charterhouse School, 1965-97. He was Archives Fellow Commoner, Churchill College, Cambridge, 1986, and Alistair Horne Fellow, St Antony's College, Oxford, 1997-8. He is a Senior Member, Brasenose College, Oxford, 1998-. He is an historian and biographer of modern British political figures. His publications include: "The Uncrowned Prime Ministers" (1980); "Selwyn Lloyd" (1989); "Alec Douglas-Home" (1996); and "Eden: the Life and Times of Anthony Eden, First Earl of Avon, 1897-1977" (2003). Richard Thorpe died on 2 February 2023.