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Alfred L. Duggan
Alfred Duggan (1903-1964) was a British historian, archeologist and best-selling historical novelist during the 1950s.
Although raised in England, he was born Alfredo León Duggan in Lomas de Zamor...view moreAlfred Duggan (1903-1964) was a British historian, archeologist and best-selling historical novelist during the 1950s.
Although raised in England, he was born Alfredo León Duggan in Lomas de Zamora Buenos Aires, Argentina to a family of wealthy landowners of Irish descent. His family moved to England when he was two years old. His father Alfredo Huberto Duggan, a first generation Irish Argentinian, was appointed in 1905 to the Argentine Legation in London, and died in 1915. In 1917, his mother, the Alabama-born Grace Elvira Hinds, daughter of the U.S. Consul General in Rio de Janeiro, became the second wife of Lord Curzon, the former Viceroy of India. Duggan and his brother Hubert (1904-1943) were raised in England at Curzon’s seats, and were educated, first at Wixenford and Eton, then Oxford University, where they became acquainted with Anthony Powell and Evelyn Waugh.
He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and went to work for the British Natural History Museum soon after graduation. At the age of 21 he sailed in a 600‐ton barquentine from England to Madeira, Trinidad and Panama to the Galapagos Islands collecting specimens for the museum. He was one of a handful of persons in recent years who crossed the Atlantic under sail. Later he traveled widely in Greece and Turkey, studying Byzantine monuments.
From 1938-1941 he served with the London Irish Rifles, with active service in the Norwegian Campaign. For the rest of World War II he worked in an airplane factory.
His novels are known for being based on meticulous historical research. He also wrote popular histories of Ancient Rome and the Middle Ages. His first novel, Knight With Armour, was written in 1946.
He passed away in Ross-on-Wye, England on April 4, 1964, aged 61.view less