Dan Snow
Daniel Robert Snow | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 3, 1978 |
| Nationality | British/Canadian |
| Education | Modern History |
| Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Broadcaster |
| Parent(s) | Peter Snow and Ann MacMillan |
| Relatives | Margaret MacMillan (aunt), Jon Snow (father's cousin) and David Lloyd George (great-great grandfather) |
Daniel Robert Snow (born December 3 1978 in London, England) is a British television presenter. He has worked in many popular history programmes for the BBC and is the "History Hunter" for the The One Show.[1]
Biography
"Big" Dan Snow is the youngest son of Peter Snow, BBC television journalist and Ann MacMillan, a CBC London correspondent. Through his mother he is the nephew of Canadian historian Margaret MacMillan, and a great-great-grandson of British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. He has Canadian and British citizenship. One of his father's cousins is the Channel 4 news reporter Jon Snow. Snow has no graduate training in history, nor has he ever published an article in an academic peer reviewed journal. Nonetheless, he refers to himself as a 'historian'.
He attended St Paul's School in Barnes, where he was Captain of the School, a member of the undefeated 1st XV and of the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup winning 1st VIII in his final year, and then Balliol College, Oxford. While at university his tutor was Niall Ferguson. Dan Snow received a first class honours degree in Modern History. He rowed three times in the University Boat Race, winning in 2000, and losing a controversial race as president in 2001.
After leaving university he and his father Peter sailed across the Atlantic together. Dan Snow captained the boat on the return leg and wrote an article in Yachting Monthly detailing his experiences. A crewmember lost the tip of his finger in a storm and had to be airlifted by helicopter.
In 2003 Dan Snow and his father made a programme on El Alamein to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the battle and followed this up with an eight-part series on BBC2 in 2004 called Battlefield Britain. This won a BAFTA award. The same year Dan Snow won a Sony award as one of the presenters on LBC Boat Race coverage.
He has made numerous history programmes for the BBC. He also presents on many of the state occasions such as the 200th anniversary celebration of the Battle of Trafalgar, Beating Retreat 2006, the 60th anniversary of the end of World War Two, the 90th anniversary of the Armistice in November 2008, Trooping the Colour and the City Salute.
Dan Snow also presented BBC 2's 20th Century Battlefields. This covers battles all around the world and is presented in similar fashion to the first Battlefield Britain which was broadcast in various markets in 2006 and is available on DVD. The second series can also be viewed on the Military Channel.
He has also started Ballista Media production company, which has worked closely with English Heritage and other museums and launched the first handheld video guides to London.
In October 2007 he was named on the Evening Standard List of Top 1000 most influential Londoners. His following has since expanded with at least five "Appreciation Societies" or fan clubs on the social networking site, Facebook, among others.
In January 2008, while presenting What Britain Earns, a BBC programme about salaries in the UK, he admitted to earning around £75,000 a year.
In June 2008, Dan Snow was in a three-part series which was called 'Britain's Lost World' on BBC 1. Along with Kate Humble and Steve Backshall, Dan stayed on the island of St Kilda, Scotland, to find out more about its amazing history and wildlife.
In July 2008, he admitted in an interview with the Radio Times that he suffers from love-shyness: "I really wish I was better at talking to girls. I've always assumed they have better things to do on a night out than be bothered by boys."[2]. Dan suffers no shyness, however, in proclaiming his love for history, and is quoted in a later article in the The Independent as saying "history is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to anyone on this planet".
Programmes and works
- Television
- El Alamein (2003) with Peter Snow, for the 60th anniversary of the battle
- Battlefield Britain (2004) with Peter Snow, on eight of the most famous battle's in British history
- Trafalgar 200 (2006) BBC2, for the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar
- Shipwreck: Ark Royal (2006) On the discovery of HMS Ark Royal sunk in 1941
- 20th Century Battlefields (2006-8) BBC2, on various battles through the 20th century
- In Living Memory (2007) BBC1 A documentary about the new British Armed Forces Memorial
- China's Terracotta Army (2007) BBC2 on the Terracotta Army
- What Britain Earns (2008)BBC2 A national survey of people's incomes
- Britain's Lost World (2008) BBC1, on the history and wildlife of St Kilda
- Hadrian (2008) BBC2, on the life and legacy of Roman Emperor Hadrian
- 50 Things You Need To Know About British History (2008) The History Channel
- My Family at War (2008) BBC1
- Grouchy Young Men (2009) Comedy Central
- How the Celts Saved Britain (2009) BBC4
- Books
- Battlefield Britain co-author with Peter Snow
- 20th Century Battlefields co-author with Peter Snow
- Death or Victory: The Battle of Quebec and the Birth of Empire published by Harper Press
- Radio
- Art in the Trenches Radio 4
- At War with Wellington Radio 4
- Prince of Wales Radio 4 A look at the history of the office of Prince of Wales and the current occupant
- Awards
- BAFTA (Visual Effects) for 'Battlefield Britain'
- Sony Award (Best Live Coverage) for Boat Race Day
- BAFTA Cymru (Best Presenter) for 'Hadrian'
External links
- Video guides
- Relative Values
- Q&A in the Guardian
- Agent
- English Heritage Films
- Daily Telegraph interview about his rowing
- Video podcasts to accompany his latest series
- BBC History Magazine's first ever Digimag featuring Dan Snow
References
- ^ Dan Snow on The One Show
- ^ Wilson, Benji (2008). "One Final Question". Radio Times (30): 146.
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