Colin McEvedy
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Through Demography, Ancient history and Modern era
Early life
Colin Peter McEvedy was born in Salford, Lancashire on 6 June 1930. He was the third son of Peter George McEvedy, a renowned surgeon, who was born in New Zealand. Colin was educated at Harrow School, where he was a scholar, and Magdalen College, Oxford.
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Career
McEvedy's profession was psychiatry, in which he had a distinguished career. He became perhaps better known, though, as a historian and demographer, and certainly so by the public at large. Between 1961 and 2002 he produced a number of historical atlases which, unlike most such atlases, feature fixed base-maps; in most cases, each atlas uses a single principal base-map, which is shown repeatedly, at many dates, as the atlas goes along, thus illustrating changes over the ages, from ancient down to modern, within the chosen area. The accompanying text, typically, is mostly a running commentary on what the maps of a given atlas show. Another feature of the atlases is McEvedy's witty and engaging writing-style, which he used on occasion to challenge established opinions among historians and demographers. Although he was not, strictly speaking, a professional in those fields, he became professionally respected in them, with his views making their way into standard textbooks.
He died in London, following a diagnosis of terminal myelofibrosis.
Family life
McEvedy had three daughters, Binky, Flora, and Allegra and a son, Phillip. Flora McEvedy is the author of The Step-Parents' Parachute, published by Piatkus Books in 2009. His youngest daughter, Allegra McEvedy, is a noted chef, co-founded the Leon Restaurants chain, and was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours.