J. M. Roberts
J. M. Roberts CBE | |
---|---|
Born | John Morris Roberts 14 April 1928 Bath, England, UK |
Died | 30 May 2003 Roadwater, Somerset, England, UK | (aged 75)
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | University of Oxford (B.A.; M.A.; PhD) |
Occupation(s) | Historian, author, professor, TV presenter |
Known for | World history |
John Morris Roberts , first broadcast in 1985.
Biography
Roberts was born in
In 1953 Roberts was elected a fellow and tutor in Modern History at
From 1979 to 1985 Roberts was vice-chancellor of the University of Southampton where he felt obliged to make unpopular cuts (Classics and Theology). Roberts could be an intimidating figure, even a "terrifying" one, but was described by colleagues as "a nice man, a very nice man, underneath it all".[3]
Roberts did not hesitate to take on ambitious subjects, and in 1976 he published The History of the World, regularly updated in later years and still in print today.[4] The Times Literary Supplement described Roberts as "master of the broad brush-stroke", and in 1985 Roberts wrote and presented the thirteen-part BBC television series The Triumph of the West, a series which painted a broad canvas but avoided simplistic solutions, encouraging the audience to think and reach its own conclusions.[3] Later he served as a historical advisor to the BBC series People's Century.
From 1985 to 1994 Roberts was
In 1996, Roberts was appointed CBE for his 'services to education and history' and made a Cavalier of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 1991.[5]
Roberts died in 2003, at Roadwater, Somerset,[6] shortly after completing the fourth revised edition of The New History of the World.
Legacy
The John Roberts Memorial Fund was established in his honour at Merton College in 2003, with the aim of increasing the financial support available to
When Roberts' The Mythology of the Secret Societies was republished in 2008, the back cover contained the following message: "We are living at a time when
Personal life
On 10 September 1960, at Milton Abbas, Roberts married (Mariabella) Rosalind Gardiner. The marriage was dissolved in 1964. At Oxford on 29 August 1964 Roberts married Judith Cecilia Mary Armitage, a schoolteacher, and they had one son and two daughters.[3][7]
Selected works
- Europe: 1880–1945 (London: Longmans, 1967. 2nd corrected and revised edition, 1970. 3rd edition, 2000 ISBN 978-0-582-35745-7)
- The Mythology of the Secret Societies (1972; reprint edition, Watkins, 2008 ISBN 978-1-905857-44-9)
- History of the World (New York: ISBN 978-0-394-49675-7
- Revolution and Improvement: The Western World, 1775–1847 (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1976). ISBN 978-0-297-77048-0
- The ISBN 978-0-19-289069-6
- An Illustrated World History (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1980. 8 volumes)
- The Age of Upheaval: The World since 1914 (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1981). ISBN 978-0-14-064008-3
- The Triumph of the West: The Origin, Rise, and Legacy of ISBN 978-0-563-20070-3
- A Short History of the World (1993). ISBN 978-0-19-511504-8
- A History of Europe (New York: 1996). ISBN 978-0-7139-9204-5
- The Age of Diverging Traditions (London: ISBN 978-0-7054-3660-1
- The Age of Revolution (London: Time-Life, 1998). ISBN 978-0-7054-3690-8
- ISBN 978-0-7054-3640-3
- The Penguin History of the Twentieth Century (1999). ISBN 978-0-14-027631-2
- Twentieth Century: A History of the World From 1901 to the Present (London: Allen Lane, 1999). ISBN 978-0-7139-9257-1
- The New History of the World (6th Edition, 2013 ISBN 978-0-19-521927-2)
References
- ^ "J. M. Roberts - Obituaries, News - The Independent". 31 August 2010. Archived from the original on 31 August 2010.
- ^ "The Daily Telegraph". Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Guardian Obituary Retrieved 13 July 2020
- ^ The History of the World at Amazon.co.uk Retrieved 12 July 2020
- ^ "J M Roberts". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ Gildea, Robert (3 June 2003). "J. M. Roberts Influential historian with a taste for academic leadership". The Independent. Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)