Ann Trotter
{{Short description|New Zealand historian (1932–2022)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox academic
| honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=NZL|ONZM|size=100%}}
| birth_name = Alison Ann Trotter
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1932|01|23|df=y}}
| birth_place = Hāwera, New Zealand
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2022|07|14|1932|01|23|df=y}}
| education = St Cuthbert's College
University of Otago
| alma_mater = London School of Economics
| death_place = Wellington, New Zealand
| relatives = Ron Trotter (brother)
Judith Trotter (sister)
| thesis_url = https://librarysearch.lse.ac.uk/permalink/44LSE_INST/1f110cn/alma99128023110302021
| thesis_title = British policy in East Asia 1933–1936
| thesis_year = 1972
| doctoral_advisor = Ian Nish
| discipline = Historian
| sub_discipline = Asian history
| workplaces = University of Otago
}}
Alison Ann Trotter {{Post-nominals|country=NZL|ONZM}} (23 January 1932 – 14 July 2022) was a New Zealand historian. She was the first woman to be appointed pro vice-chancellor of the University of Otago.
Early life and education
Alison Ann Trotter was born in Hāwera, New Zealand on 23 January 1932, daughter of Pan and Clement George Trotter. She was educated at Hāwera Main Primary School, before undertaking her secondary schooling at St Cuthbert's College in Auckland from 1945 to 1949, where she was head girl in her final year.{{Cite web |last=McGibbon |first=Ian |date=2022-09-13 |title=Obituary of Professor Ann Trotter ONZM |url=https://www.nziia.org.nz/articles/obituary-of-professor-ann-trotter-onzm/ |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=NZIIA – New Zealand Institute of International Affairs}}{{Cite web |last=Brookes |first=Barbara |date=2022-08-05 |title=Obituary: Ann Trotter, first female pro vice-chancellor of Otago University |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/129468025/obituary-ann-trotter-first-female-pro-vicechancellor-of-otago-university |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=Stuff |language=en}}
She graduated from the University of Otago with a master of arts in 1953, followed by teacher training at Auckland Training College.
Career
Trotter taught history and social studies at Epsom Girls' Grammar School from 1959 to 1968, where she influenced Helen Clark, later prime minister of New Zealand. She left to study in England, completing a Master of Arts degree at the School of Oriental and African Studies, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics, where her research focussed on Asian history.
In 1973, Trotter returned to New Zealand to lecture in Asian history at the University of Otago, rising to become a full professor in 1993.{{cite book |url=https://www.otago.ac.nz/otago836506.pdf |title=The University of Otago Calendar for 2022 |year=2022 |chapter=Emeritus professors |page=123 |access-date=24 December 2022}} She served as pro vice-chancellor at the University of Otago from 1993 to 1997, the first woman to fill this role.
Trotter was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 1997 Queen's Birthday Honours, for services to historical research.{{Cite web |date=1997-06-02 |title=The Queen's Birthday Honours List 1997 |url=https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/queens-birthday-honours-list-1997 |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |language=en-NZ}} She retired from the University of Otago in 1998, receiving the title of emeritus professor, and moved to Wellington.{{Cite web |last=Brookes |first=Barbara |title=Alumni obituaries: Professor Ann Trotter, 14 July 2022 |url=https://www.otago.ac.nz/alumni/people/otago841284.html |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=University of Otago |language=en-nz}}
Trotter died in Wellington on 14 July 2022.{{Cite news |date=2022-07-16 |title=Alison Trotter obituary (2022) |url=https://notices.nzherald.co.nz/nz/obituaries/nzherald-nz/name/alison-trotter-obituary?pid=202387455 |access-date=2022-12-16 |work=The New Zealand Herald}}
Selected publications
- {{Cite book |last=Trotter |first=Ann |title=Britain and East Asia, 1933–1937 |date=1975 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-20475-5 |location=London |oclc=1322250}}
- {{Cite book |last=Trotter |first=Ann |title=New Zealand and Japan, 1945–1952 : the occupation and the peace treaty |date=1990 |publisher=Athlone Press |isbn=0-485-11398-8 |location=London |oclc=21482828}}
- {{Cite book |last=Trotter |first=Ann |title=Mary Potter's Little Company of Mary : the New Zealand experience, 1914-2002 |date=2003 |publisher=Bridget Williams Books |others=Little Company of Mary |isbn=1-877242-31-4 |location=Wellington [N.Z.] |oclc=71241610}}
References
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Category:Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Category:New Zealand historians
Category:University of Otago alumni
Category:Academic staff of the University of Otago
Category:People educated at St Cuthbert's College, Auckland
Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics