Thane studied history at the University of Oxford, and then completed her PhD under
Brian Abel-Smith at the
London School of Economics. She was a lecturer then senior lecturer in the department of social policy at
Goldsmiths College London from 1967 until 1994. She was professor of contemporary history at the University of Sussex 1994-2001, then Leverhulme professor of contemporary British history at the
Institute of Historical Research 2001-10 and professor of contemporary history at
King's College London to 2019 as well as a general
historian. She has been a visiting professor at Nanjing University, China, and at universities in Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Chile, New York. Alongside Alastair Reid (
Girton College),
Simon Szreter, (St John’s College, Cambridge), and
Virginia Berridge (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine), Thane is a founder of
History & Policy, which publishes historical research freely online. ==Awards and honours==