Bamber Gascoigne

Gascoigne was born in London, England, and has aristocratic connections. He studied English literature at Magdalene College, Cambridge, and came to fame as the presenter of popular television quiz show, University Challenge, in 1962. Although he has written several books, mostly on history, and presented other television programmes, his name is permanently connected with University Challenge in the minds of most people -- despite the fact that, since 1994, the show has been presented by Jeremy Paxman.

In the programme's early days, Gascoigne set all the questions himself. His style of presentation is often held up as an example of excellence. His questioning was firm yet polite, and his judgement scrupulously fair. A phrase he often used became something of a catchphrase: "I'll have to hurry you".

In recent years he has devoted much of his time in establishing an online history encyclopaedia called "History World" [1] (http://www.historyworld.net/).

In the early hours of Wednesday August 8, 1979 Gascoigne was witness to the burial by Kit Williams, the author of Masquerade, of a valuable golden hare in an earthenware jar "somewhere in Britain". The treasure hunt which followed was pursued worldwide.

In The Young Ones' episode "Bambi" he is parodied by Griff Rhys Jones as "Bambi[?] Gascoigne" (with considerable emphasis being placed on the resemblance of his name to the Disney character).

External links

• History world website (http://www.historyworld.net/)