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{{Short description|British educationalist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2015}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2013}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2013}}
{{Infobox officeholder
⚫
'''John Frederick Wolfenden, Baron Wolfenden''', [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] (26 June 1906, [[Swindon, Wiltshire]] – 18 January 1985, Guildford, Surrey)<ref>{{Cite ODNB|id=31852|title=Wolfenden, John Frederick}}</ref> was a [[United Kingdom|British]] educationalist probably best remembered for chairing the Wolfenden Committee whose [[Wolfenden report|report]], recommending the decriminalisation of homosexuality, was published in 1957. He was headmaster of [[Uppingham School|Uppingham]] and [[Shrewsbury School|Shrewsbury]].<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://sti.bmj.com/content/33/4/205.full.pdf|title = Wolfenden Report Full Text|date = |accessdate = |website = |publisher = |last = |first = }}</ref>
| honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name = The Lord Wolfenden
| honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|CBE}}
| image =
| image_size =
| image_upright =
| smallimage = <!--If this is specified, "image" should not be.-->
| smallimage_alt =
| alt =
| caption =
| order =
| office = [[Member of the House of Lords]]
| status = <!--If this is specified, overrides Incumbent.-->
| term_start = 12 July 1974
| term_end =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| office1 = [[Director of the British Museum]]
| status1 = <!--If this is specified, overrides Incumbent.-->
| term_start1 = 1969
| term_end1 = 1973
| predecessor1 = [[Frank Francis]]
| successor1 = [[John Pope-Hennessy]]
| order2 =
| office2 = [[Vice-Chancellor]] of the [[University of Reading]]
| status2 = <!--If this is specified, overrides Incumbent.-->
| term_start2 = 1950
| term_end2 = 1963
| predecessor2 = [[Sir Frank Stenton]]
| successor2 = [[Sir Harry Pitt]]
<!-- Personal -->
| birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name -->
| birth_date = 26 June 1906
| birth_place = [[Swindon]], Wiltshire, England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|18 January 1985|26 June 1906}}
| death_place = [[Guildford]], Surrey, England
| citizenship = <!-- use only when necessary per [[WP:INFONAT]] -->
| nationality = <!-- use only when necessary per [[WP:INFONAT]] -->
| party =
| spouse =
| children =
| parents = <!-- overrides mother and father parameters -->
| education = [[Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield]]
| alma_mater = [[Queen's College, Oxford]]
| occupation =
| profession =
| known_for =
| salary =
| cabinet =
| committees =
| portfolio =
| awards =
}}
⚫
'''John Frederick Wolfenden, Baron Wolfenden''', {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|CBE}} (26 June 1906 – 18 January 1985) was a British educationalist probably best remembered for chairing the Wolfenden Committee whose [[Wolfenden report|report]], recommending the decriminalisation of homosexuality, was published in 1957. He was headmaster of [[Uppingham School|Uppingham]] and [[Shrewsbury School|Shrewsbury]] [[Public school (UK)|public schools]].<ref>{{Cite journal|url = http://sti.bmj.com/content/33/4/205.full.pdf|title = Wolfenden Report Full Text| journal=Sexually Transmitted Infections | date=December 1957 | volume=33 | issue=4 | pages=205 | doi=10.1136/sti.33.4.205 }}</ref>


== Early life ==
== Early life ==
He was the son of George Wolfenden and Emily Hannah Gaukroger, both born in [[Halifax, Yorkshire]]. George Wolfenden became an official of the West Riding Education Authority based in [[Wakefield]], [[Yorkshire]], where John attended [[Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield|Queen Elizabeth Grammar School]]. He won a scholarship to [[University of Oxford|Oxford]].
Wolfenden was born on 26 June 1906 in [[Swindon, Wiltshire]], England.<ref name="ODNB">{{Cite ODNB|id=31852|title=Wolfenden, John Frederick}}</ref> He was the son of George Wolfenden and Emily Hannah Gaukroger, both born in [[Halifax, Yorkshire]]. George Wolfenden became an official of the West Riding [[Local education authorities in England and Wales|Local Education Authority]] based in [[Wakefield]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], where John attended [[Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield|Queen Elizabeth Grammar School]]. He won a scholarship to [[University of Oxford|Oxford]].


== Professional life ==
== Professional life ==
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In 1950 he became [[Vice-Chancellor]] of the [[University of Reading]] and found time to write two books, ''Family Affair'' and ''The Steele Age'', both part of the series of 'Take Home Books'.
In 1950 he became [[Vice-Chancellor]] of the [[University of Reading]] and found time to write two books, ''Family Affair'' and ''The Steele Age'', both part of the series of 'Take Home Books'.


From 1954 to 1957 he was Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution, known in shorthand as the Wolfenden Committee after himself,<ref name=DH>{{cite book|editor-last=Mosley|editor-first=Charles|title=Debrett's Handbook 1982, Distinguished People in British Life|publisher=Debrett's Peerage Limited|page=1626|isbn=0-905649-38-9}}</ref> whose [[Wolfenden Report|report]] was published in 1957. Wolfenden had been appointed to head the committee by the then Home Secretary, [[David Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir|Sir David Maxwell Fyfe]] to consider whether the existing laws on these should be changed. Maxwell Fyfe would later come to oppose the liberalisation of gay rights while sitting as Lord Kilmuir in the House of Lords. [[Geraldine Bedell]] noted the irony of this, and commented: "Perhaps he [Maxwell-Fyfe] thought, by handing over to a committee, to shelve the issue. Perhaps he assumed Wolfenden would find against, in which case, he chose a curious chairman, because Wolfenden had a gay son, [[Jeremy Wolfenden|Jeremy]]."<ref name="bedell">Geraldine Bedell, [https://www.theguardian.com/society/2007/jun/24/communities.gayrights "Coming out of the dark ages"], ''The Observer'', London, 24 June 2007.</ref>
⚫
In 1957, Wolfenden chaired an independent committee initiated by the [[Central Council of Physical Recreation]] which investigated the role of various statutory and voluntary groups in sport in the United Kingdom. The committee published its report in 1960, and fifty years later it was still an influential work in its field.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sportdevelopment.info/index.php/subjects/60-ccpr-a-national-governing-bodies/251-sport-a-the-community-the-report-of-the-wolfenden-committee-on-sport-1960 |title=Sport and the Community |publisher=[[Central Council of Physical Recreation]] |date=2 September 1960 |accessdate=18 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019051818/http://www.sportdevelopment.info/index.php/subjects/60-ccpr-a-national-governing-bodies/251-sport-a-the-community-the-report-of-the-wolfenden-committee-on-sport-1960 |archivedate=19 October 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>


⚫
In 1957, Wolfenden chaired an independent committee initiated by the [[Central Council of Physical Recreation]] which investigated the role of various statutory and voluntary groups in sport in the United Kingdom. The committee published its report in 1960, and fifty years later it was still an influential work in its field.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sportdevelopment.info/index.php/subjects/60-ccpr-a-national-governing-bodies/251-sport-a-the-community-the-report-of-the-wolfenden-committee-on-sport-1960 |title=Sport and the Community |publisher=[[Central Council of Physical Recreation]] |date=2 September 1960 |access-date=18 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019051818/http://www.sportdevelopment.info/index.php/subjects/60-ccpr-a-national-governing-bodies/251-sport-a-the-community-the-report-of-the-wolfenden-committee-on-sport-1960 |archive-date=19 October 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
⚫
In 1962 the [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|Privy Council]] appointed Wolfenden as Chairman of the [[Council for the Training of Health Workers]] and the [[Council for the Training in Social Work]], two bodies established by the [[Health Visiting and Social Work (Training) Act 1962]].<ref>Ministry of Health, Circular 24/62, 19 October 1962, Copy held by Kendal Archives, WC/W/A1568/Box 9/W/2/1
⚫
</ref>


⚫
In 1962, the [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|Privy Council]] appointed Wolfenden as Chairman of the [[Council for the Training of Health Workers]] and the [[Council for the Training in Social Work]], two bodies established by the [[Health Visiting and Social Work (Training) Act 1962]].<ref>Ministry of Health, Circular 24/62, 19 October 1962, Copy held by Kendal Archives, WC/W/A1568/Box 9/W/2/1
In 1969, Wolfenden was appointed as director of the [[British Museum]], a post he retired from in 1973.
⚫
</ref>
[[File:London Borough of Hackney Coat of Arms.jpg|thumb|A plaque at Stamford Hill Library, Hackney, opened by John Wolfenden]]
Wolfenden was director of the [[British Museum]] from 1969 to 1973,{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} became President of [[Chelsea College of Science and Technology|Chelsea College]] in 1972, Chairman of the [[Chelsea Building Society]] and Metropolitan Association of Building Societies in 1978.<ref name=DH/>


==Personal life==
He was the father of [[Jeremy Wolfenden]], foreign correspondent for ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' and a British spy.<ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2007/jun/24/features.review27|title = We saw the light, but too late for some|date = 24 June 2007|accessdate =15 August 2015 |work=[[The Observer]] |author= [[Philip French|French, Philip]] }}</ref>
Wolfenden married Eileen Spilsbury in 1932, they had two sons and two daughters.<ref name=DH/> His elder son was [[Jeremy Wolfenden]], a foreign correspondent for ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' and a British spy.<ref>{{Citation |last=French|first=Philip|author-link=Philip French|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2007/jun/24/features.review27|title=We saw the light, but too late for some|date=24 June 2007|access-date=15 August 2015|work=[[The Observer]]}}</ref>

He died aged 78, on 18 January 1985 in [[Guildford]], [[Surrey]], England.<ref name="ODNB" />


== Thoughts and ideas ==
== Thoughts and ideas ==
In his essay ''The Gap—The Bridge'', Wolfenden discusses the problems with [[institutional dichotomy]].
In his essay ''The Gap—The Bridge'', Wolfenden discusses the problems with [[institutional dichotomy]].

His memoirs were published by [[The Bodley Head]] in 1976, under the title of ''Turning Points''.


== Titles ==
== Titles ==
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|pages=4075–4076
|pages=4075–4076


}}</ref>
}}</ref><ref name=DH/>


He was created a [[life peer]] on 12 July 1974 with the title '''Baron Wolfenden''', ''of [[Westcott, Surrey|Westcott]] in the [[County of Surrey]]''.<ref>{{London Gazette
He was created a [[life peer]] on 12 July 1974 with the title '''Baron Wolfenden''', ''of [[Westcott, Surrey|Westcott]] in the [[County of Surrey]]''.<ref>{{London Gazette
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|page=7918
|page=7918
}}</ref>
}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Wolfenden report]]


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
*{{worldcat id|lccn-n50-51804}}
*[https://www.flickr.com/photos/sarflondondunc/2507900739/ Stamford Hill Library Plaque]
*[https://www.flickr.com/photos/sarflondondunc/2507900739/ Stamford Hill Library Plaque]
*[http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp05925/john-frederick-wolfenden-baron-wolfenden National Portrait Gallery]
*[http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp05925/john-frederick-wolfenden-baron-wolfenden National Portrait Gallery]
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[[Category:Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Headmasters of Shrewsbury School]]
[[Category:Headmasters of Shrewsbury School]]
[[Category:Headmasters of Uppingham School]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Life peers]]
[[Category:Life peers]]
[[Category:Life peers created by Elizabeth II]]
[[Category:People educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield]]
[[Category:People educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield]]
[[Category:Vice-Chancellors of the University of Reading]]
[[Category:Vice-Chancellors of the University of Reading]]
[[Category:English male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:English male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Classical Association]]

Latest revision as of 01:54, 2 July 2024

The Right Honourable
The Lord Wolfenden
CBE
Member of the House of Lords
Assumed office
12 July 1974
Director of the British Museum
In office
1969–1973
Preceded byFrank Francis
Succeeded byJohn Pope-Hennessy
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading
In office
1950–1963
Preceded bySir Frank Stenton
Succeeded bySir Harry Pitt
Personal details
Born26 June 1906
Swindon, Wiltshire, England
Died18 January 1985(1985-01-18) (aged 78)
Guildford, Surrey, England
EducationQueen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield
Alma materQueen's College, Oxford

John Frederick Wolfenden, Baron Wolfenden, CBE (26 June 1906 – 18 January 1985) was a British educationalist probably best remembered for chairing the Wolfenden Committee whose report, recommending the decriminalisation of homosexuality, was published in 1957. He was headmaster of Uppingham and Shrewsbury public schools.[1]

Early life[edit]

Wolfenden was born on 26 June 1906 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England.[2] He was the son of George Wolfenden and Emily Hannah Gaukroger, both born in Halifax, Yorkshire. George Wolfenden became an official of the West Riding Local Education Authority based in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, where John attended Queen Elizabeth Grammar School. He won a scholarship to Oxford.

Professional life[edit]

Having studied in Oxford, Wolfenden became a don at Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1929.

John Wolfenden was the headmaster of Uppingham School (1934–1944) and Shrewsbury School (1944–1950) and chairman of various government committees which mostly focused on education and problems with youth.

In 1950 he became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading and found time to write two books, Family Affair and The Steele Age, both part of the series of 'Take Home Books'.

From 1954 to 1957 he was Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution, known in shorthand as the Wolfenden Committee after himself,[3] whose report was published in 1957. Wolfenden had been appointed to head the committee by the then Home Secretary, Sir David Maxwell Fyfe to consider whether the existing laws on these should be changed. Maxwell Fyfe would later come to oppose the liberalisation of gay rights while sitting as Lord Kilmuir in the House of Lords. Geraldine Bedell noted the irony of this, and commented: "Perhaps he [Maxwell-Fyfe] thought, by handing over to a committee, to shelve the issue. Perhaps he assumed Wolfenden would find against, in which case, he chose a curious chairman, because Wolfenden had a gay son, Jeremy."[4]

In 1957, Wolfenden chaired an independent committee initiated by the Central Council of Physical Recreation which investigated the role of various statutory and voluntary groups in sport in the United Kingdom. The committee published its report in 1960, and fifty years later it was still an influential work in its field.[5]

In 1962, the Privy Council appointed Wolfenden as Chairman of the Council for the Training of Health Workers and the Council for the Training in Social Work, two bodies established by the Health Visiting and Social Work (Training) Act 1962.[6]

A plaque at Stamford Hill Library, Hackney, opened by John Wolfenden

Wolfenden was director of the British Museum from 1969 to 1973,[citation needed] became President of Chelsea College in 1972, Chairman of the Chelsea Building Society and Metropolitan Association of Building Societies in 1978.[3]

Personal life[edit]

Wolfenden married Eileen Spilsbury in 1932, they had two sons and two daughters.[3] His elder son was Jeremy Wolfenden, a foreign correspondent for The Daily Telegraph and a British spy.[7]

He died aged 78, on 18 January 1985 in Guildford, Surrey, England.[2]

Thoughts and ideas[edit]

In his essay The Gap—The Bridge, Wolfenden discusses the problems with institutional dichotomy.

His memoirs were published by The Bodley Head in 1976, under the title of Turning Points.

Titles[edit]

Wolfenden was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1942, and was knighted in 1956.[8][3]

He was created a life peer on 12 July 1974 with the title Baron Wolfenden, of Westcott in the County of Surrey.[9]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Wolfenden Report Full Text" (PDF). Sexually Transmitted Infections. 33 (4): 205. December 1957. doi:10.1136/sti.33.4.205.
  2. ^ a b "Wolfenden, John Frederick". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31852. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ a b c d Mosley, Charles (ed.). Debrett's Handbook 1982, Distinguished People in British Life. Debrett's Peerage Limited. p. 1626. ISBN 0-905649-38-9.
  4. ^ Geraldine Bedell, "Coming out of the dark ages", The Observer, London, 24 June 2007.
  5. ^ "Sport and the Community". Central Council of Physical Recreation. 2 September 1960. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  6. ^ Ministry of Health, Circular 24/62, 19 October 1962, Copy held by Kendal Archives, WC/W/A1568/Box 9/W/2/1
  7. ^ French, Philip (24 June 2007), "We saw the light, but too late for some", The Observer, retrieved 15 August 2015
  8. ^ "No. 40829". The London Gazette. 13 July 1956. pp. 4075–4076.
  9. ^ "No. 46352". The London Gazette. 24 September 1974. p. 7918.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Wolfenden,_Baron_Wolfenden&oldid=1232120105"