Regius Professor of Modern History (Cambridge)
Encyclopedia
Regius Professor of Modern History is one of the senior professorships in history
at Cambridge University
. It was founded in 1724 by George I. The appointment is by Royal Warrant on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of the day. Traditionally the Patronage Secretary at Number 10 Downing Street 'took soundings' in Cambridge and put two names before the Prime Minister, of which one was forwarded to the monarch. In 2008, however, Prime Minister Gordon Brown devolved the appointment of all the Regius Professorships onto appointments committees at their respective universities; the Vice-Chancellor is now required to forward the name of the successful candidate, who must have accepted the offer of the post, to the Cabinet Office, which then initiates the recommendation by the Prime Minister and the issuing of the Royal Warrant. The Regius Professorship was originally intended by George I to teach contemporary European history, and four modern language instructors had to be paid for out of the Professor's salary. In 1861 this requirement was dropped. A number of the holders of the Professorship have in fact been medieval history specialists, following a later division of History into Ancient and Modern. In 2010, the Queen and the Privy Council approved the removal of the word 'modern' from the title to reflect this change in usage, on the recommendation of the History Faculty and the University.
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
at Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. It was founded in 1724 by George I. The appointment is by Royal Warrant on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of the day. Traditionally the Patronage Secretary at Number 10 Downing Street 'took soundings' in Cambridge and put two names before the Prime Minister, of which one was forwarded to the monarch. In 2008, however, Prime Minister Gordon Brown devolved the appointment of all the Regius Professorships onto appointments committees at their respective universities; the Vice-Chancellor is now required to forward the name of the successful candidate, who must have accepted the offer of the post, to the Cabinet Office, which then initiates the recommendation by the Prime Minister and the issuing of the Royal Warrant. The Regius Professorship was originally intended by George I to teach contemporary European history, and four modern language instructors had to be paid for out of the Professor's salary. In 1861 this requirement was dropped. A number of the holders of the Professorship have in fact been medieval history specialists, following a later division of History into Ancient and Modern. In 2010, the Queen and the Privy Council approved the removal of the word 'modern' from the title to reflect this change in usage, on the recommendation of the History Faculty and the University.
Regius Professors of Modern History
- Samuel Harris 1724
- Shallet TurnerShallet TurnerShallet Turner FRS LL. D. was a Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge, and a Fellow of the Royal Society. As a Regius professor of Modern history he was notorious for treating the position as a sinecure.-Life:...
1735 - Lawrence BrockettLawrence BrockettLawrence Brockett was the youngest of five sons born to Lawrence Brockett and Anne Clarke. He inherited from his parents Headlam Hall, a country house near Gainford, County Durham...
1762 - Thomas GrayThomas GrayThomas Gray was a poet, letter-writer, classical scholar and professor at Cambridge University.-Early life and education:...
1768 - John Symonds 1771
- William Smyth (history professor) 1807
- Sir James StephenJames Stephen (undersecretary)Sir James Stephen was the British under-secretary of state for the colonies from 1836 to 1847. He was instrumental in implementing the slavery abolition act.-Early life:...
1849 - Charles KingsleyCharles KingsleyCharles Kingsley was an English priest of the Church of England, university professor, historian and novelist, particularly associated with the West Country and northeast Hampshire.-Life and character:...
1860 - John SeeleyJohn Robert SeeleySir John Robert Seeley, KCMG was an English essayist and historian.-Life:He was born in London, the son of R.B. Seeley, a publisher. Seeley developed a taste for religious and historical subjects...
1869 - John Dalberg, Baron Acton of Aldenham 1895
- John Bagnell BuryJ. B. BuryJohn Bagnell Bury , known as J. B. Bury, was an Irish historian, classical scholar, Byzantinist and philologist.-Biography:...
1902 - George Macaulay Trevelyan 1927
- George Norman Clark 1943
- James Ramsay Montagu ButlerJames Ramsay Montagu ButlerSir James Butler was a British politician and academic.Butler was born at Trinity College, Cambridge, where his father was master of the college. Butler attended Harrow School and then Trinity College...
1947 - David Knowles 1954
- Herbert ButterfieldHerbert ButterfieldSir Herbert Butterfield was a British historian and philosopher of history who is remembered chiefly for two books—a short volume early in his career entitled The Whig Interpretation of History and his Origins of Modern Science...
1963 - William Owen Chadwick 1968
- Geoffrey Elton 1983
- Patrick CollinsonPatrick CollinsonPatrick Collinson CBE was an English historian, known as an authority on the Elizabethan era. His most influential work has been about Elizabethan Puritanism. He was Emeritus Regius Professor of Modern History, University of Cambridge, having occupied the chair from 1988 to 1996...
1988 - Quentin SkinnerQuentin SkinnerQuentin Robert Duthie Skinner is the Barber Beaumont Professor of the Humanities at Queen Mary, University of London.-Biography:...
1996 - Richard J. EvansRichard J. EvansRichard John Evans is a British academic and historian, prominently known for his history of Germany.-Life:Evans was born in London, of Welsh parentage, and is now Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Cambridge and President of Wolfson College...
2008
See also
- Regius Professor of Modern History (Oxford)Regius Professor of Modern History (Oxford)The Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford is an old-established professorial position. The first appointment was made in 1724...