- Lionel George Curtis
Lionel George Curtis (1872–1955) was a British official and author. He advocated British Empire Federalism and, late in life, a
world state . His ideas concerning dyarchy were important in the development of theGovernment of India Act 1919 and more generally, his writings influenced the evolution of theCommonwealth of Nations .Life
Curtis was educated at
Haileybury College and then atUniversity of Oxford subsequently becoming a lawyer. After fighting in theSecond Boer War with theCity Imperial Volunteers and serving as secretary toLord Milner , he dedicated himself to working for a united self-governing South Africa. This experience led him to conceptualize his version of aFederal World Government , which became his life work. In pursuit of this goal, he founded (1910) the quarterly "Round Table". He was appointed (1912) Beit lecturer in colonial history at Oxford University, and a Fellow of All Souls College.In 1919 Curtis led a delegation of British and American experts to organize the
Royal Institute of International Affairs during the Peace Conference of Paris.Works
Curtis' most important books were:
* "The Commonwealth of Nations" (1916);
* "Dyarchy" (1920); and,
* "Civitas Dei: The Commonwealth of God" (1938), arguing that theUnited States must rejoin the British commonwealth and that the Commonwealth must evolve into aworld government .References
* "World Revolution In The Cause of Peace", Basil Blackwell, Oxford (1949)
* "From Empire to International Commonwealth: A Biography of Lionel Curtis" by Deborah Lavin, Oxford University Press (1995), ISBN 0-19-812616-6
* "The Round Table movement and imperial union" by John Edward Kendle, University of Toronto Press (1975), ISBN 0-8020-5292-4
* "The Anglo-American Establishment by Professor Carroll QuigleyExternal links
* [http://www.houseofdavid.ca/rou_tab.pdf Round Table Movement - Past and Future, 1913]
* [http://www.houseofdavid.ca/dyarch.htm Papers relating to the application of the principle of DYARCHY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF- INDIA, 1920]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.