Frederick Charles Copleston was born on 10 April 1907 in Taunton, England. A Jesuit priest and historian, he is best known for his multi-volume work, A History of Philosophy (1946). Ordained in 1937, he completed his Jesuit training in Germany, returning to Britain before the outbreak of the war. Afterward, he lectured at Heythrop College and the Gregorian University in Rome. In 1970, Heythrop became part of the University of London, and Copleston served as Principal of the college, retiring in 1974. He was Visiting Professor at the University of Santa Clara until 1982.
Fellow of the British Academy, he was awarded honorary degrees from Santa Clara, Uppsala, and St Andrews, and appointed Commander of the British Empire in 1993. He debated Bertrand Russel on the existence of God in a 1948 BBC broadcast. Notable works include Nietzsche (1942), Aquinas (1955), Contemporary Philosophy: Studies of Logical Positivism and Existentialism (1956), A History of Medieval Philosophy (1972), Religion and Philosophy (1974), Philosophers and Philosophies (1976), On the History of Philosophy (1979), Philosophers and Culture (1980), and Philosophy in Russia (1986).
