Arnold J Toynbee: Giant among historians, chronicler of civilisations

Best known for his magnum opus A Study of History, that provides a comprehensive analysis of the factors that influenced the phases between the establishment and the death of civilisations, he also wrote articles and books galore on a wide range of themes in international relations.

Born in London on April 14, 1889 to Harry Valpy Toynbee, secretary of the Charity Organization Society, and Sarah Edith Marshall, Arnold Toynbee belonged to a family of intellectuals who included his uncle and namesake, 19th-century economist Arnold Toynbee. His sister Jocelyn Toynbee was an archaeologist and art historian.

Education
Toynbee enrolled at the Winchester College and Balliol College, Oxford (Literae Humaniores, 1907–1911) and had also briefly attended the British School at Athens, where he began research on his philosophy on the decline of civilisations.

Career & major work
In 1912, Toynbee was appointed a teacher and fellow of ancient history at the Balliol College. In 1915, he joined the intelligence department of the British Foreign Office.

In 1915, he began research on Zionism (originally the movement for the re-establishment of a Jewish state, which led to the founding of Israel) at the British Foreign Office. In 1916, he edited and co-authored the book titled The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire with Viscount Bryce. During the same year, he released the books titled British View of the Ukrainian Question and The Destruction of Poland: A Study in German Efficiency.

From 1925 to 1955, he was a research professor and director of studies at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London. That year, he was appointed research professor of international history at the London School of Economics. He retired from the position in 1956.

In 1936, Toynbee spoke at an event in Berlin which apparently prompted Adolf Hitler to approach the historian to be interviewed by him.

In 1937, he became a fellow of the British Academy, the national academy for the humanities and social sciences in United Kingdom.

Toynbee’s most celebrated work, A Study of History, is a monumental analysis in 12 volumes of the rise and fall of civilisations. It looks at the rise, flowering and decline of civilisations, examined from a global perspective.

From 1943 to 1946, he served as the director of the research department of the Foreign Office at the London School of Economics.

Personal Life
Toynbee’s first wife, Rosalind Murray, was the daughter of classical scholar and intellectual Gilbert Murray. They were married in 1913 and stayed together until divorce parted them in 1946. The historian then married Veronica Boulter, his research assistant. He died on October 22, 1975, .

Recognition
In 1947, Toynbee was featured on the cover of Time magazine which featured an article praising A Study of History and compared it with Karl Marx’s Das Capital. In 1987, The Toynbee Prize Foundation was commissioned to honour those who contribute to the development of the social sciences and humanities and announced sponsorships for scholars in global history.

Interesting Facts
During the early 1920s, amid the Greco-Turkish War, Arnold Toynbee was a correspondent for The Guardian newspaper. He also published the work titled The Western Question in Greece and Turkey.

Toynbee’s theories published during the early 1960s and a controversial lecture at McGill University earned him a debate invitation from Dr. Yaakov Herzog, Israel’s ex-envoy to Canada. During the lecture, Toynbee showed no support for the Jewish demand for statehood. He also compared the Israeli treatment of the Palestinians to what the Nazis had done to the Jews.

On May 5, 1972, Arnold Toynbee had a rendezvous with Daisaku Ikeda, president and founder of the international Nichiren Buddhist organisation Soka Gakkai International in London. The duo discussed a wide range of issues and condemned nuclear weapons and the threat they held for the human race. Their correspondence culminated in the publication of Choose Life which has been published in 24 languages till date.