John Enoch Powell Biography

Birth of John Enoch Powell

Enters Trinity College, Cambridge, as an Entrance Scholar to study classics.

Wins a Craven Scholarship while studying classics at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Receives a Browne Medal during an exceptionally successful undergraduate career in classics.

Wins the Porson Prize for Greek verse composition during his studies at Cambridge.

Receives a Craven Travelling Studentship and continues advanced research in classical scholarship.

Graduates from Trinity College with first-class honours in classics after an outstanding academic performance.

Is elected to a Prize Fellowship at Trinity College and continues research on Herodotus and Thucydides.

Collates manuscripts of Thucydides as part of the textual research that occupies much of his early scholarly career.

Publishes The Rendel Harris Papyri of Woodbrooke College with translations and scholarly notes.

Receives his Master of Arts degree from Cambridge while continuing his classical scholarship.

Appointed Professor of Greek at Sydney University

Publishes First Poems, the first of several volumes demonstrating his continuing interest in poetry.

Serves as curator of the Nicholson Museum while holding the chair of Greek at the University of Sydney.

Publishes A Lexicon to Herodotus, a major work of classical scholarship that establishes his academic reputation.

Delivers his inaugural lecture as Professor of Greek at the University of Sydney and criticises appeasement in Europe.

Is promoted from private to lance corporal while serving in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.

Publishes Casting-off, and Other Poems, continuing the poetic work begun before his academic appointment in Australia.

Publishes his scholarly edition of Herodotus Book VIII through Cambridge University Press.

Publishes The History of Herodotus shortly before returning from Australia after the outbreak of war.

Enlists as a private in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment after returning from Australia following the outbreak of the Second World War.

Receives an emergency commission as a second lieutenant on the General List after completing officer training.

Transfers to the Intelligence Corps and begins wartime service focused on military intelligence and analysis.

Serves as a temporary captain and General Staff Officer Grade Three in an intelligence role with an armoured formation.

Advances to wartime lieutenant while serving in military intelligence.

Serves with the Joint Intelligence Committee in the Middle East, assessing intelligence for senior commanders.

Attends the Staff College at Camberley as his rapid wartime progression into higher staff work continues.

Is posted to Cairo and works in senior intelligence duties in the Middle East theatre.

Is promoted to major after assuming responsibilities normally associated with more senior intelligence officers.

Is promoted to lieutenant colonel during his service in Middle East military intelligence.

Contributes intelligence assessment and planning to British operations culminating in the Second Battle of El Alamein.

Serves as secretary to the Joint Intelligence Committee for India and contributes to planning within South-East Asia Command.

Is appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for gallant and distinguished military service in the Middle East.

Moves to Delhi for senior military-intelligence work connected with India and the South-East Asian theatre.

Appointed Brigadier General

Appointed Brigadier General

Becomes a full colonel and Assistant Director of Military Intelligence in India, supporting operations connected with the Burma campaign.

Serves on a headquarters committee considering the reorganisation of the Army in India as the war moves toward its final phase.

Begins post-war political work in the Conservative Parliamentary Secretariat after deciding not to return to a full academic career.

Reaches the temporary rank of brigadier after beginning the war as a private soldier.

Appointed Member of Conservative Party

Produces Conservative policy papers on India while working in the party research organisation after the war.

Contests the Normanton by-election as a Conservative candidate but is not elected.

Publishes a further scholarly work on Herodotus through Oxford's Clarendon Press.

Elected Member of Parliament for Wolverhampton

Publishes One Nation with fellow Conservative thinkers, contributing to a new policy discussion within the party.

Delivers his maiden speech in the House of Commons shortly after entering Parliament for Wolverhampton South West.

Publishes the poetry collection Dancer's End.

Publishes the poetry collection The Wedding Gift.

Begins serving as a director of the London Municipal Society while continuing his parliamentary career.

Marries Margaret Pamela Wilson; the couple later have two daughters.

Co-authors The Social Services: Needs and Means with Iain Macleod, examining Conservative approaches to social policy.

Contributes to the Conservative policy publication Change is our Ally.

Publishes a revised edition of The Social Services: Needs and Means with Iain Macleod.

Appointed Junior Housing Minister

Co-authors Biography of a Nation with Angus Maude, presenting an interpretation of Britain's political and social development.

Publishes Thucydidis historia through the Clarendon Press, continuing his work on Greek historical texts.

Appointed Financial Secretary

Resigns as a Junior Minister at the Treasury

Is appointed to the Privy Council during his period as a senior Conservative minister.

Publishes Great Parliamentary Occasions, reflecting his longstanding interest in parliamentary history and political oratory.

Publishes Saving in a Free Society through the Institute of Economic Affairs.

Appointed Minister of Health

Publishes The Welfare State as a Conservative policy study.

Addresses the National Association for Mental Health and argues for replacing large isolated mental hospitals with community-based care.

Answers extensive parliamentary questions during a smallpox outbreak and discusses vaccination and public-health measures.

Addresses hospital administrators on efficiency, planning and the use of resources within the National Health Service.

Defends the national Hospital Plan in the House of Commons and stresses long-term development of modern hospital services.

Resigns because of the choice of Lord Home as Prime Minister

Answers parliamentary questions on public information about smoking and lung cancer during his final year as Minister of Health.

Stands unsuccesfully for the leadership of the Conservative Party, wins 15 votes

Publishes A Nation not Afraid, a collection of political writings edited by John Wood.

Becomes Shadow Secretary of State for Defence under the newly elected Conservative leader Edward Heath.

Uses his Conservative Party conference speech to argue for a defence policy centred on Britain's European and NATO commitments.

Publishes A New Look at Medicine and Politics, returning to questions raised during his period as Minister of Health.

Publishes Exchange Rates and Liquidity through the Institute of Economic Affairs.

Co-authors The House of Lords in the Middle Ages with Keith Wallis.

Says in 20 yrs time the "black man will have the whip hand". "Rivers of blood" speech, criticising immigration policies of the Labour Government

Edward Heath dismisses him from the Conservative shadow cabinet one day after the controversial Birmingham immigration speech.

Publishes Freedom and Reality, a collection of speeches and political writings edited by John Wood.

Publishes Immigration and Enoch Powell, a collection edited by Tom Stacey dealing with his arguments on immigration policy.

Publishes Income Tax at 4s/3d in the Pound, edited by Anthony Lejeune, setting out arguments for substantial tax reduction.

Advises the public to vote Labour

Is returned for Wolverhampton South West with a majority of 14,467, the largest majority of his parliamentary career there.

Publishes The Common Market: The Case Against, setting out his constitutional and economic objections to British EEC membership.

Speaks in the Commons debate on the European Economic Community as his opposition to British membership becomes increasingly prominent.

Continues his parliamentary attack on entry into the European Economic Community during a second day of Commons debate.

Speaks during debate on the Immigration Bill, continuing his campaign for stricter controls on immigration.

Speaks against entrance to Asian British passport holders expelled by Idi Amin

Speaks against Asian British passport holders expelled by Idi Amin from Uganda

Publishes Still to Decide, a collection of political speeches and arguments edited by John Wood.

Asks of Heath "has the Right Honourable Gentleman taken leave of his senses?"

Publishes Common Market: Re-negotiate or Come Out, arguing that British EEC membership should be renegotiated or ended.

Publishes No Easy Answers, continuing his political and religious commentary.

Speaks in a Commons immigration debate while remaining one of the country's most prominent advocates of restrictive immigration policy.

Speaks during debate on immigration rules and challenges government policy in the House of Commons.

Speaks on the Northern Ireland White Paper, developing constitutional arguments that later shape his Ulster Unionist politics.

Appointed Member of Ulster Unionist Party

Enoch Powell decides he cannot stand for the Conservatives because of their EU policy

Enoch Powell decides he cannot stand for the Conservatives because of their EU policy

Powell urges Birmingham voters to support Labour because of its European Community policy.

Addresses a Unionist rally in Enniskillen and argues for Northern Ireland's place within the United Kingdom.

Addresses a public meeting on Labour's proposed renegotiation of Britain's EEC membership.

Links the EEC question to the coming general election in a public speech in Norwich.

Addresses Unionists on the EEC, Northern Ireland and inflation as the October general election approaches.

Addresses a public meeting in Banbridge on Ulster's constitutional position within the United Kingdom.

Elected Member of Parliament for South Down

Addresses South Down Unionists on Ulster and the constitutional questions facing Northern Ireland.

Speaks at a United Ulster Unionist rally on proposals for a Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention.

Addresses a public meeting on the EEC as campaigning develops before the 1975 membership referendum.

Publishes Medicine and Politics: 1975 and After, revisiting health policy from his later political perspective.

Links national sovereignty, EEC membership and devolution in a speech to Young Conservatives in Brighton.

Publishes a political biography of Joseph Chamberlain.

Publishes Wrestling with the Angel, a work reflecting his sustained interest in biblical and theological questions.

Publishes A Nation or No Nation, a collection of political writings edited by Richard Ritchie.

Resigns his seat in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement

Wins the South Down by-election after Unionist MPs resign their seats to campaign against the Anglo-Irish Agreement.

Speaks in a Commons debate on the European Community while continuing his long-standing opposition to supranational European integration.

Loses South Down to SDLP candidate Eddie McGrady by 731 votes, bringing his parliamentary career to an end.

Publishes Enoch Powell on 1992, returning to the constitutional implications of deeper European integration.

Publishes Collected Poems, bringing together poetry written across several decades.

Publishes Reflections of a Statesman, a collection of writings and speeches edited by Rex Collings.

Publishes The Evolution of the Gospel, a scholarly study of the origins and development of gospel texts.

Death of John Enoch Powell