Photo: Olaf Kosinsky / CC BY-SA 3.0 de (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
What draws me to Timothy Garton Ash is that he never let academic prestige dull his nose for the real thing. He was physically present in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin and Prague as 1989 unfolded, and turned that into prose that reads like both reportage and history. I admire writers who refuse to choose between the archive and the street, and he is the rare one who masters both. An Oxford emeritus and Hoover fellow who still trusts his own eyes, with a Somerset Maugham Award and an Orwell Prize to show for it. When I want to understand modern Europe, his is the voice I reach for first.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Timothy Garton Ash
- Name (Japanese)
- ティモシー・ガートン・アッシュ
- Reading
- てぃもしー・がーとん・あっしゅ
- Born
- July 12, 1955 (age 71)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Goat
- Origin
- London, United Kingdom
- Occupation
- journalist / historian / writer / essayist / opinion journalist
2. Background
- University
- Exeter College
Awards & achievements
- Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
- 2013 Charlemagne Medal for European Media
- 1984 Somerset Maugham Award
- 1989 Prix Européen de l'Essai Charles Veillon
- 2002 Hoffmann von Fallersleben Prize
- 2006 Orwell Prize
- 2011 honorary doctor of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
- Member of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | The Uses of Adversity: Essays on the Fate of Central Europe | — | |
| Notable work | The Magic Lantern: The Revolution of ’89 Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin, and Prague | — |
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Timothy Garton Ash born?
Born July 12, 1955 (age 71).
Where is Timothy Garton Ash from?
Timothy Garton Ash is from London, United Kingdom.
What does Timothy Garton Ash do?
Timothy Garton Ash works as journalist, historian, writer, essayist, opinion journalist.
What is Timothy Garton Ash known for?
Notable works include The Uses of Adversity: Essays on the Fate of Central Europe, The Magic Lantern: The Revolution of ’89 Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin, and Prague.
Journalist — see all → · Historian — see all → · More people from United Kingdom →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.