Asa Briggs

Asa Briggs was a British politician, historian, university teacher, and sociologist born in Keighley in 1921. He served as a warrant officer in the Royal Corps of Signals during World War II. Briggs held positions as a life peer and professor emeritus, working at the University of Leeds and The Open University. He was educated at Sidney Sussex College and the University of London.

His professional focus included the Victorian era, and he authored works such as *The history of broadcasting in the United Kingdom*, *History of Bethlem*, *The story of the Leverhulme Trust*, *The age of improvement*, and *Mass entertainment*. Briggs received the Wolfson History Prize and a Fellow of the British Academy distinction, along with an honorary doctorate. He was a member of the British Academy and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Briggs died in Lewes in 2016.