The relationship between Britain and America is still so special, says deputy US ambassador to the UK

America has yet to master its place in the world, but its special relationship with Britain has been “forged by the fires of history,” according to a senior US diplomat.

Matthew Palmer, U.S. Vice Ambassador to the United Kingdom, spoke at Oxford University’s centenary celebrations for the Harmsworth Chair in American History, which invites leading U.S. professors of American history to spend a year spend in the UK.

The Harmsworth Professorship was established by the first Lord Rothermere – who co-founded the Daily Mail with his brother – in memory of his son Vyvyan Harmsworth MC, who was killed in the First World War and whose favorite subject was history.

Mr Palmer said: ‘The Harmsworth professorship bears the splendor of history itself.

‘It was the first chair in American history to be established at a British university, and I’m sure it is one of the first in the world.

And whether it was 100 years ago, in the shadow of the Great War, a time when America still had to come to grips with its place in the world, or today, a time when America still had to come to grips with its place in the world. world, the Harmsworth Professorship has made an incredible contribution to the study of our country, where it has been and where it could go.’

On the eve of this week’s commemorations in Normandy marking the anniversary of D-Day, when British and American forces worked together to liberate the continent from Nazi tyranny, the deputy ambassador added: “The bond between our two countries has been forged by the fires of history.

And the study of each other’s history has only strengthened that bond, creating alloys of understanding and empathy.

“We believe that the study of American history in the UK is as important today as it was 100 years ago.”

Lord Rothermere, chairman of the Daily Mail’s owners DMGT, and his wife Lady Rothermere joined 20 former and current Harmsworth professors and Lord Patten, the Chancellor of Oxford University, to celebrate the post’s centenary at a special dinner at Queen’s College Oxford on Saturday evening.

Lord Rothermere (pictured), Chairman of the owners of the Daily Mail, DMGT, and his wife Lady Rothermere joined 20 former and current Harmsworth professors and Lord Patten, the Chancellor of Oxford University, to celebrate the post’s 100th anniversary. celebrate over a special dinner at Queen’s College Oxford on Saturday night

Vyvyan Harmsworth, secretary of the Rothermere Foundation and nephew of Lord Rothermere, said the professorship — now based at the Rothermere American Institute at the University of Oxford — now had significant weight among American academics specializing in American history.

He said, “Over the past 100 years, we have seen tremendous growth in the importance of this position – it is now recognized as one of the most distinguished positions among American history professors.”

The current Harmsworth professor, Bruce Schulman, the William E Huntington professor of history at Boston University, said he still had to pinch himself at being invited to take the role.

Professor Schulman: ‘The role helps all those American professors who come here to look at our country in a different way, and that can only be a good thing.

“I am incredibly fortunate to have been a Harmsworth professor, as it is now regarded by American historians as one of the most prestigious positions outside of America.”