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A memorial service was held yesterday (Tuesday 4 October) at All Souls Church, Langham Place, London to celebrate the life of Lord Asa Briggs.

For 37 years Briggs was regarded as the Â鶹ԼÅÄ’s first official historian, once referring to his endeavours by saying, 'to write the history of broadcasting in the 20th century is to write the history of everything else.'

Briggs first became involved in broadcasting in 1958 when he was asked by Sir Ian Jacob, then Director-General of the Â鶹ԼÅÄ, to write a history of British broadcasting, focusing in particular the role of the Â鶹ԼÅÄ. The first volume of Briggs’s five-volume history, Birth of Broadcasting was published in 1961; he completed the fifth volume in 1995. The books are seen by some as an extant source.

Historians and academics paid tribute to Briggs at his memorial today. Professor Jean Seaton from the University of Westminster, the Â鶹ԼÅÄ's current historian, spoke of Briggs' contribution to the organisation. 

The memorial also celebrated Asa Briggs’ contribution to The Open University. The institution announced yesterday the creation of a new Professorial Chair in History – the Asa Briggs Chair. Its first incumbent will be Paul Lawrence from the OU's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, who has made a significant scholarly contribution to British social history. Additionally there will be a funded PhD studentship in a related area of research. 

"Asa Briggs was the first real historian to take the media seriously," said Tony Hall at the service, "His five-volume history of the Â鶹ԼÅÄ was a foundation, paving the way to media history as we know it today. He was also an inspirational guide to the Corporation, illuminating not only its past and present, but its future too.”

Briggs’ role as a public historian is to be celebrated in a special Radio 4 Archive Hour, scheduled for broadcast in 2017.

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