Sir William Keith Hancock, (26 June 189813 August 1988) was a prominent Australian historian. Early life and education He was born in Melbourne, Victoria, the son of Archdeacon William Hancock. At the age of nine, he won the Royal Humane Society's medal for rescuing another child from drowning in the Mitchell River. He was educated at Melbourne Grammar School and later the University of Melbourne where he was resident at Trinity College from 1917, winning the Perry Scholarship, Trinity's most prestigious award. Too young to see service in World War I without permission from his parents, it was said that he always felt shame about the fact he could not fight. As the Australia-at-large Rhodes Scholar for 1921, Hancock went to Balliol College, Oxford in 1922. He graduated in 1924 with a Bachelor of Arts with first class honours in Modern History. He was the first Australian to gain a Fellowship of All Souls College, Oxford in 1923. Academic career He was Professor of Modern History at the University of Adelaide between 1924 and 1933. On his appointment he was aged only 25, the youngest professor in the British Commonwealth, and one who had held no previous teaching post. In 1930 he published Australia, a book which was well received and notable for its ironic tone, particularly in criticism of Australian institutions such as tariff protection, was highly influential, and is still frequently quoted today. From 1934 to 1944 Hancock was the Professor of History at University of Birmingham and during this war period was also appointed to the War Cabinet Offices. His Survey of British Commonwealth Affairs was published in three volumes in 1937–42. In 1941 he was appointed Supervisor of the United Kingdom Civil Series of the History of the Second World War and was thereafter editor of the series. In 1943, he published Argument of Empire, he defended the British Empire. In 1949, with Margaret Gowing, he wrote The British War Economy, the introductory volume to that series. Between 1944 and 1949, he returned to Oxford, becoming Chichele Professor of Economic History. During the War he also played a role in Civil Defence, serving as a firewatcher. He was knighted in 1953, partially for his services in writing and editing the histories. In 1949 he left Oxford, taking up an appointment as the Director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies. He served as the Professor of British