Gerald Howat

Gerald Howat
Gerald Howat
Born	Gerald Malcolm David Howat; 12 June 1928 (age 98); Glasgow, Scotland
Died	10 October 2007 (aged 79); Oxford, England
Occupation(s)	Historian, cricket author, educator
Years active	1950s–2007
Known for	Cricket biographies, history textbooks

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Gerald Howat, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 11 August 2025

Gerald Howat (12 June 1928 – 10 October 2007), originally named Gerald Malcolm David Howat, was a distinguished British historian, cricket author, and educator.

Early life

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Howat secured a scholarship to attend Glenalmond College and later pursued his studies at Edinburgh University. He fulfilled his National Service duties as a Flying Officer stationed at RAF Titchfield.

Academic career

Howat spent three years teaching at Trinidad Leaseholds Ltd in Pointe-à-Pierre, where the storekeeper was Sonny Ramadhin. Upon returning to England, he headed the history department at Kelly College in Tavistock for five years. Subsequently, he dedicated fourteen years as principal lecturer and history department head at Culham College of Education. There, he merged his enthusiasm for cricket with his profession by organizing twice-yearly matches between the History Department and North Moreton, his village team which he captained.

He undertook doctoral research on "the place of history in education" at Exeter College, Oxford and acted as general editor for the Historical Division at Pergamon Press. Howat authored multiple academic textbooks and served as general editor for the 1973 edition of the Dictionary of World History, collaborating with eminent historians including A.J.P. Taylor, Max Beloff, and Asa Briggs. Additionally, he edited the illustrated biographical work Who Did What (1974) published by Mitchell Beazley.

While serving as Head of History at Radley College, Howat found limited opportunity for writing. This led him in 1977 to take on a senior pastoral position at Lord Williams's School, Thame, which enabled him to devote more time to literary projects. He also held a brief appointment as visiting professor at Western Kentucky University and acted as an examiner for the Oxbridge Board. He retired from teaching in 1985.

Howat contributed seventy biographies, many focusing on former cricketers, to the 2004 edition of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Cricket literature

For many years, he reported on schools cricket for both The Daily Telegraph and The Cricketer. Following his retirement from education, he concentrated more fully on cricket writing, producing several highly regarded biographies of prominent players. His biography of Learie Constantine, whom he first encountered at Glenalmond College, earned the golden jubilee award from the Cricket Society. His last publication was his autobiography Cricket All My Life, released shortly before his passing; it candidly addressed his health challenges while concluding on an optimistic note with a visit back to Lord's for a committee meeting.

A member of the MCC for over four decades, Howat chaired its publishing working group. Although he qualified to join the arts and library sub-committee, he had disagreements with its chairman, E.W. Swanton. He played club cricket as a wicket-keeper for Moreton CC in Oxfordshire until age 77 and maintained close ties with the club for nearly fifty years.

Family

He was father to three children: David, Gillian, and Michael. Michael was a medium-fast bowler who appeared in first-class cricket representing Cambridge University, participating in the prestigious University Match in both 1977 and 1980. Gerald also served as Chairman of TASS (The Abingdon School Society), where his sons received their education.

Death

Gerald Howat passed away in Oxford on 10 October 2007, aged 79. His obituary in the Independent remarked:

Keeping pace with Gerald Howat required quickness. His brief, punchy sentences came at a rapid-fire tempo... It was a testament to a prolific and energetic intellect.

Bibliography

The Story of Health (co-authored with Anne Howat), Pergamon Press, 1967.
Who Did What: The Mitchell Beazley Illustrated Biographical Dictionary (editor), Mitchell Beazley, 1974.
Stuart and Cromwellian Foreign Policy, A C Black, 1974.
Learie Constantine, Allen & Unwin, 1975.
Village Cricket, David Charles, 1980.
Cricketer Militant: The Life of Jack Parsons, North Moreton Press, 1980.
Culham College History (with Leonard Naylor), Culham Educational Foundation, 1982.
Walter Hammond, Allen & Unwin, 1984.
Plum Warner, Unwin Hyman, 1987.
Len Hutton: The Biography, Heinemann, 1988.
Cricket's Second Golden Age: The Hammond-Bradman Years, Hodder & Stoughton, 1989.
Cricket Medley, Sports History Publishing, 1993.
Cricket All My Life (autobiography), Methuen, 2006.

External links