Died today: Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm. He inspired a generation of the New Left but was accused of being an apologist for Stalinism . Eric Hobsbawm, the eminent Marxist historian, died yesterday at the age of 95. Professor Hobsbawm, who once described himself as an ‘unrepentant communist’, was a towering figure on the British Left  for decades. Born in Egypt to Jewish parents, he fled Nazi Germany in 1933, coming to Britain where he became a prolific writer and hugely influential thinker. His books were studied by generations of history students, and his history of the 20th century, . The Age Of Extremes, has been translated into more than 40 languages. He faced criticism in later years for continuing to promote communism long after it had been discredited in Russia and Eastern Europe. But admirers said that his humanity and interest in ordinary people transcended his hardline political beliefs. Labour Party leader Ed Miliband yesterday led the tributes to a man he said had ‘brought history out of the ivory tower and into people’s lives’. Mr Miliband, whose late father Ralph was a close friend of Professor Hobsbawm, described him as ‘a lovely man, with whom I had some of the most stimulating and challenging conversations about politics and the world’. He added: ‘Eric Hobsbawm was an extraordinary historian, a man passionate about his politics and a great friend of my family. Long association: Birkbeck College, London, where Mr Hobsbawm began as a lecturer in 1947 and was finally appointed president in 2002 . 'Giant of progressive politics': Former PM Tony Blair, left, led tributes to Mr Hobsbawm today, but the historian's critics have accused him of being an apologist for the brutal policies of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, right . ‘His historical works brought hundreds of years of British  history to hundreds of thousands of people.’ Professor Hobsbawm’s daughter Julia said yesterday that her father died overnight at the Royal Free Hospital in London. He had been suffering from pneumonia and leukaemia. She said: ‘Right up until the end he was keeping up what he did best, he . was keeping up with current affairs. There was a stack of newspapers by . his bed.’ He spent his career as a lecturer at Birkbeck College in London, becoming its president in 2002. Despite his communist sympathies he was made a Companion of Honour in 1998, placing him in the ranks of luminaries such as Stephen Hawking, Doris Lessing and Sir Ian McKellen.
Lifelong Communist inspired a generation of thinkers on the New Left .
Critics say he was an apologist for the excesses of Stalinism .
Tony Blair pays tribute to 'giant of progressive politics history'
Died today: Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm. He inspired a generation of the New Left but was accused of being an apologist for Stalinism . Eric Hobsbawm, the eminent Marxist historian, died yesterday at the age of 95. Professor Hobsbawm, who once described himself as an ‘unrepentant communist’, was a towering figure on the British Left  for decades. Born in Egypt to Jewish parents, he fled Nazi Germany in 1933, coming to Britain where he became a prolific writer and hugely influential thinker. His books were studied by generations of history students, and his history of the 20th century, . The Age Of Extremes, has been translated into more than 40 languages. He faced criticism in later years for continuing to promote communism long after it had been discredited in Russia and Eastern Europe. But admirers said that his humanity and interest in ordinary people transcended his hardline political beliefs. Labour Party leader Ed Miliband yesterday led the tributes to a man he said had ‘brought history out of the ivory tower and into people’s lives’. Mr Miliband, whose late father Ralph was a close friend of Professor Hobsbawm, described him as ‘a lovely man, with whom I had some of the most stimulating and challenging conversations about politics and the world’. He added: ‘Eric Hobsbawm was an extraordinary historian, a man passionate about his politics and a great friend of my family. Long association: Birkbeck College, London, where Mr Hobsbawm began as a lecturer in 1947 and was finally appointed president in 2002 . 'Giant of progressive politics': Former PM Tony Blair, left, led tributes to Mr Hobsbawm today, but the historian's critics have accused him of being an apologist for the brutal policies of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, right . ‘His historical works brought hundreds of years of British history to hundreds of thousands of people.’ Professor Hobsbawm’s daughter Julia said yesterday that her father died overnight at the Royal Free Hospital in London. He had been suffering from pneumonia and leukaemia. She said: ‘Right up until the end he was keeping up what he did best, he . was keeping up with current affairs. There was a stack of newspapers by . his bed.’ He spent his career as a lecturer at Birkbeck College in London, becoming its president in 2002. Despite his communist sympathies he was made a Companion of Honour in 1998, placing him in the ranks of luminaries such as Stephen Hawking, Doris Lessing and Sir Ian McKellen.
inspired a generation of the New Left but was accused of being an apologist for Stalinism . progressive politics': Former PM Tony Blair,