Alan John Percivale Taylor was born in Lancashire in 1906. After studying at Oriel College, Oxford, he became a lecturer in modern history at Manchester University. In 1953 he returned to Oxford University as a lecturer in international history.

As well as a successful career as a broadcaster, Taylor published a large number of books on history including The Struggle for Mastery in Europe 1848-1918 (1954), The Trouble Makers (1957), The Origins of the Second World War (1961) and English History 1914-1945 (1965).

Taylor's autobiography, A Personal History, was published in 1983. He died in 1990.