Early Life
Grierson was born in Dublin to Philip Henry Grierson (24 April 1859 – 18 November 1952) and Roberta Ellen Jane Grierson (1875 – 1 September 1970). He had two sisters, Janet Grierson born 10 October 1913 and Aileen Grierson born 14 August 1901. His father was a land surveyor and member of the Irish Land Commission who, after losing his job in 1906, ran a small farm at Clondalkin, near Dublin. There he gained a reputation for financial acumen, and was appointed to the boards of a number of companies. Grierson’s father also built up an important collection of freshwater snails, which now resides at the Ulster Museum in Belfast.
Grierson was educated at Marlborough College, where he specialised in natural sciences. As a result, he was admitted to read medicine at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, in 1929. Almost immediately, he switched to history, and was to remain with the latter subject for the rest of his life. However, his early interest in the sciences left him with a sound knowledge of the methods and principles of metallurgy, mathematics, statistics and much more besides that would prove valuable in later years.
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