Anthony Blunt
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Anthony Blunt | |
|---|---|
| Born | Anthony Frederick Blunt 26 September 1907 Bournemouth, Hampshire, England |
| Died | 26 March 1983 (aged 75) Westminster, London, England |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Burial place | Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium, London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Art historian, professor, writer, spy |
| Espionage activity | |
| Allegiance |  Soviet Union |
Anthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 – 26 March 1983),[4] styled Sir Anthony Blunt KCVO from 1956 to 1979, was a British art historian and spy. In 1964, he confessed to having been a spy for the Soviet Union and was part of the spy group the Cambridge Five.
Blunt was the "fourth man" of the Cambridge Five, a group of Cambridge-educated spies working for the Soviet Union from some time in the 1930s to at least the early 1950s.[5]
The height of his spying was during World War II, when he passed intelligence to the Soviet Union. His confession was a closely guarded secret for years. It was revealed by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in November 1979. He was stripped of his knighthood immediately.
Blunt was professor of art history at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, and Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures.
References
- ↑ Carter 2001, p. 180.
- ↑ Carter 2001, p. 302.
- ↑ Carter 2001, p. 319.
- ↑ GRO Register of Deaths: Mar 1983 15 2186 Westminster – Anthony Frederick Blunt, DoB = 26 September 1907; Varriano 1996.
- ↑ "Blunt, Prof. Anthony (Frederick), (26 Sept. 1907–26 March 1983), Professor of the History of Art, University of London, and Director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, 1947–September 1974; Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures, 1952–72 (of the Pictures of King George VI, 1945–52); Adviser for the Queen's Pictures and Drawings, 1972–78". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u162133. ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1. Retrieved 2021-02-12.