John Manning Ward

Who was John Manning Ward?

John Manning Ward was a Vice Chancellor and Challis Professor of History at the University of Sydney.

Professor Ward was born in Sydney and was educated at Fort Street Boys High School and the University of Sydney. He was admitted to the NSW Bar in 1948.

Professor Ward was a distinguished historian, serving as Challis Professor of History from 1948 to 1979. He steered the History Department through a period of scarce resources into an era of expansion.

He produced major books and articles on British, Imperial and Australian history. His books include British Policy in the South Pacific, 1796-1893; 'Earl Grey and the Australian Colonies, 1847-1856; Colonial Self-Government, the British Experience, 1759-1856; and James Macarthur, Colonial Conservative, 1798-1867, the latter being the first in a trilogy on conservatism in Australia. Professor Ward had planned on retirement to complete the other two books in the series.

He was appointed Visiting Professor at Yale University in 1963; Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford in 1968; and was the Smuts Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University in 1972.