Hans , Nicholas , 1888-1969 , educationist

Nicholas Hans (1888-1969) was born in Russia and studied, and later lectured, in the Faculty of Philology at the University of Odessa during the turbulent decades following 1905. He participated in political life in Odessa during and after the 1917 Revolution, serving as a member of the City Council from 1918. In 1919 Hans left Russia for England and took up studies in the Department of Education, King's College, London. In the 1920s he began to work on the Year Book of Education, continuing this work until the outbreak of World War Two. During the War he worked as a civil servant in the Censorship Department of the Ministry of Information. In 1946 he was appointed as lecturer at King's College, becoming a Reader in Comparative Education in 1948. During this time he collaborated with Joseph Lauwerys at the Institute of Education in supervising higher degree students and arranging overseas trips, and he continued these activities after his retirement in 1953. He wrote and published on a wide range of topics, including comparative education, educational policy in Russia, and the history of Russian and eighteenth century education.