Thomas Pakenham

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For further people of the same name, see Earl of Longford.

Thomas Francis Dermot Pakenham, 8th Earl of Longford (born 14 August 1933), known simply as Thomas Pakenham, is an Anglo-Irish historian and arborist who has written several prize-winning books on the diverse subjects of Victorian and post-Victorian British history and trees. He is the son of Frank Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, a Labour minister and human rights campaigner, and Elizabeth Longford; his sister, Antonia Fraser, is also a writer and is married to playwright Harold Pinter; his brother Kevin Pakenham works in the City.

Thomas Pakenham does not use his title and did not use his courtesy title before succeeding his father. He did not disclaim the UK titles under the Peerage Act 1963. His Irish peerages cannot be disclaimed as they are not covered by the Act.

He married Valerie Susan Scott in 1964 and they have four children:

Lady Anna Maria Pakenham b. 26 Jul 1965
Lady Eliza Pakenham b. 3 Nov 1966
Edward Melchior Pakenham, Lord Silchester b. 6 Jan 1970
Hon. Frederick Augustus Pakenham b. 27 Nov 1971

Biography

After graduating from Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1955 Thomas Pakenham travelled to Ethiopia, a trip which is described in his first book The Mountains of Rasselas. On returning to Britain, he worked on the editorial staff of the Times Educational Supplement and later for the Sunday Telegraph and The Observer. He presently divides his time between London and County Westmeath, Ireland, where he is the chairman of the Irish Tree Society and honorary custodian of Tullynally Castle.

Bibliography

Books authored or co-authored by Thomas Pakenham in reverse chronological order:

The Mountains of Rasselas: Ethiopian Adventure ISBN 0297823698
The Year of Liberty: The History of the Great Irish Rebellion of 1798 ISBN 0679748024
The Boer War (1979) ISBN 0349104662
The Scramble for Africa (1991) ISBN 0349104492 (winner of the WH Smith Literary Award and the Alan Paton Award)
Meetings with Remarkable Trees (1996) ISBN 0297832557 (made into a radio and television series of the same name)
Remarkable Trees of the World (2002) ISBN 0297843001
Remarkable Baobab (2004) ISBN 0297843737

External links

Preceded by:
Frank Pakenham

Earl of Longford

Followed by:
Current Incumbent

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