WORLD : Historian A. J. P. Taylor, 84, Dies

British historian A. J .P. Taylor, whose accounts of modern European life and politics became both bestsellers and schoolroom classics, died today, his daughter said. He was 84.

He had spent the last two years in a London nursing home after developing Parkinson’s disease.

Alan John Percivale Taylor was one of Europe’s leading authorities on the great conflicts of the 20th Century. He was credited with making history interesting for the public as an author, journalist and television lecturer.

A. J. P. Taylor--the name by which he was known to the world--won acclaim for the insights he gave into the events that shaped modern Europe.

Generations of British students have struggled through their history examinations with his books. Many were translated into other languages and sold millions of copies in paperback, becoming standard textbooks worldwide.