David Andrew Day is an Australian historian, academic, and author. He is known for his many historical works of non-fiction, including several biographies of former Australian prime ministers and other works on Australian political history.
Early life and education David Andrew Day was born in Melbourne, Victoria. The son of a weather forecaster with Australia's Bureau of Meteorology, he grew up in Melbourne and Charleville, Queensland.
He commenced accounting studies, in which he performed poorly owing to his political activity, which included protesting against Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War.
After a short period of work, Day returned to his studies and graduated with first-class honours in history and political science from the University of Melbourne. He was later awarded a PhD from the University of Cambridge.
Career Academia Day has been official historian of the Australian Customs Service and the Bureau of Meteorology, Keith Cameron Professor of Australian History at University College Dublin, professor of Australian studies at the University of Tokyo, an Australian Research Council senior research fellow in the history program at La Trobe University and the Archives By-Fellow at Churchill College at Cambridge University. As of 2012 he was an honorary associate in the history program at La Trobe University in Melbourne. Note: appears to be self-edited.
Writing Day has written widely on Australian history and the history of the Second World War. Among his many books are Menzies and Churchill at War (about Australian prime minister Robert Menzies and British prime minister Winston Churchill during the Second World War) and a two-volume study of Anglo-Australian relations during the Second World War.
Awards 1992?: Smugglers and Sailors, shortlisted by the Fellowship of Australian Writers for its Book of the Year Award 1998: Claiming a Continent, winner, Non-Fiction Award, South Australian Festival Awards for Literature 2000: John Curtin: A Life, shortlisted, Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction in the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards 2000: John Curtin: A Life, winner, Queensland Premier's History Book Award
Published works
Completely revised and updated edition bringing together two earlier works: The Great Betrayal and Reluctant Nation.
The Story of a Prime Minister: Paul Keating, a Biography. Sydney: HarperCollins Australia. pp. 576. . Maurice Blackburn: Champion of the People. Melbourne: Scribe. 2019. .
References
External links
Conquest: a review by Morag Fraser in The Age on 30 July 2005