Michael King (historian)
Dr Michael King (15 December 1945 - 30 March 2004) was a New Zealand historian.
He earned degrees in history at Victoria University (BA 1967) and the University of Waikato (MA 1968.)
He was well-known for his knowledge of Maori culture and history. He was lauded for writing about New Zealanders, for New Zealanders, presenting them with themselves and their country as had never before been done.
He wrote biographies of Te Puea Herangi, Whina Cooper, Frank Sargeson (1995) and Janet Frame (2000). More general works are Being Pakeha (1985), Moriori (1989), and The Penguin History of New Zealand (July 2003). In all, he wrote or edited 34 books. He was joint winner of the 2003 Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement.
Dr King and his wife were killed in a car crash on 30th March 2004 when their car ploughed into a tree near Maramarua, on SH2 in the north Waikato. The cause of the crash was reported by the police at the time to be a complete mystery as speed was not a factor and investigators have little idea how the car could veer of a straight road.