J. M. Roberts
J. M. Roberts was a prominent British historian, born in 1928 in Bath, Somerset. He received his education at Taunton School and Keble College, Oxford, graduating with first-class honors in modern history in 1949. After serving in the National Service, he returned to Oxford, where he became a fellow of Magdalen College in 1952. Roberts had a notable academic career, including a fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and visiting professorships at several U.S. universities. He served as vice chancellor of Southampton University from 1979 to 1985 and later returned to Oxford, where he was warden of Merton College until his retirement in 1994. His contributions to historical scholarship include editing significant historical series and authoring influential works such as "A History of Europe." Knighted in 1996 for his services to education and history, Roberts emphasized the importance of European civilization in the narrative of modern history while also engaging with global perspectives through his various academic and advisory roles.
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J. M. Roberts
- Born: April 14, 1928
- Birthplace: Bath, Somerset, England
- Died: May 30, 2003
- Place of death: Roadwater, Somerset, England
Biography
J. M. Roberts, a distinguished British historian, was born in 1928 in Bath, Somerset, England. He received his early education at the Taunton School and then attended Keble College at Oxford, where he graduated with first class honors in modern history in 1949. He entered the National Service and after completing his term returned to Oxford, where he became a fellow of Magdalen College in 1952. From 1953 to 1979, Roberts was a fellow at Oxford University, and in 1953 he traveled to the United States as a Commonwealth Fund Fellow and studied at Yale and Princeton Universities.
Partly as a result of his exposure to the United States as a Commonwealth Fund Fellow, Roberts became a member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton in 1960 and held the title of visiting professor at both the University of South Carolina and Columbia University. During this time, he also lectured in India on behalf of the British Council.
Roberts served as vice chancellor of Southampton University from 1979 to 1985, during which time he wrote and produced the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) television series and companion book The Triumph Of The West (1985). In 1985, Roberts returned to Oxford, reassumed his position, and also served as warden of Merton College. He retired in 1994 and two years later was knighted for his services to education and history.
Roberts was the editor of a number of historical projects, including Purnell’s History of the Twentieth Century (1971), the New Oxford History of England (1995-2005), and the Short Oxford History of the Modern World (1970-2003). Roberts also wrote many history books, including The Mythology of the Secret Societies (1972), The Paris Commune from the Right (1973), and The French Revolution (1973).
Other key posts and appointments over the course of Roberts’s career include that of joint editor of the English Historical Review from 1966 to 1977, a BBC governor from 1988 to 1993, and a trustee of Rhodes House from 1988 to 1994. He also was an historical adviser to the BBC television series People’s Century.
His book A History of Europe (1997) covers the rise of European civilization in the Agaean region and follows through to the conflicts of the mid-twentieth century. In an era in which historians are expected to pay increased attention to non- European cultures, Roberts maintained that the development of European civilization was the driving force of modern history.