Bindoff, S.T. (Stanley Thomas), 1908-

S.T. Bindoff was born 8 April 1908 in Hove, Sussex, to Thomas Henry and Mary Bindoff. He was educated at Brighton Grammar School and University College London, where he achieved a BA (History Hons) in 1929 and an MA with a mark of distinction in 1933.

After graduation he worked as a research assistant, a professional indexer and a history tutor. He worked at University College London from 1935-45, as an Assistant Lecturer and then a Lecturer in History. During World War Two he served in the Naval Intelligence Division of the Admiralty from 1942-1945. He then worked as a Reader in Modern History at University College London from 1945-1951. In 1951 he became the first Professor of History at Queen Mary College, University of London, where his impact was great. During his time at Queen Mary College he served as Head of the History Department, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and as a representative of the Academic Board on the Governing Body. He also became involved in the complex affairs of the University of London; he performed roles including Chairman of the Board of Studies in History, and Representative of the University on the Essex Records Committee, and on the Governing Bodies of several educational institutions. Bindoff also worked as a Visiting Professor in History at U.S. universities including Claremont Graduate School, California, in 1966, and Harvard University, in 1968. In addition, Bindoff acted as an External Examiner for the Universities of Oxford, Reading, and Nottingham. Bindoff remained at Queen Mary College until his retirement in 1975.

Bindoff wrote one book, Tudor England (Pelican History of England series, 1950), which was highly successful. He had twenty nine items published, not including several reviews. These items included The Scheldt Question to 1839 (1945), and Ket's Rebellion (a Historical Association pamphlet, 1949). He also jointly edited Elizabethan Government and Society (1961). Bindoff devoted much of his later years to the History of Parliament, a gazetteer of the members and constituencies of The House of Commons. Bindoff was the editor of the section covering the parliaments of 1509-58, published in 1982.

In addition, Bindoff served on committees and councils of various organisations, including the Royal Historical Society, which he became Vice-President of in 1967, the Historical Association, and the Advisory Council on Public Records.

Bindoff married Marjorie Blatcher (1906/7-1979), in 1938. She was A.F. Pollard's research assistant, an authority on the technicalities of legal history. They had a daughter, Helen, and a son, Tom. He died 23 December 1980 in Surbiton, Surrey, after falling ill with bronchopneumonia.

From the guide to the BINDOFF, Stanley Thomas (1908-1980), 1934-1976, (Queen Mary, University of London)