Professor Arthur Herbert Dodd (1891 – 21 May 1975) was an

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

who taught and published widely, specialising in the

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

of the Tudor and

Stuart period The Stuart period of British history lasted from 1603 to 1714 during the dynasty of the House of Stuart. The period was plagued by internal and religious strife, and a large-scale civil war which resulted in the Execution of Charles I, execu ...

s, Welsh history, and the

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

. Dodd was born and brought up in

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...

, where his father Charles was a headmaster at Victoria School. It was a family of modest means but studious inclinations; one of his three brothers, C. H. Dodd, achieved particular distinction as a

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

scholar. Having attended

Grove Park Grammar School The Grove Park School (or simply the Groves School) is a former school building in Wrexham, North Wales, which was home to a school between 1939 and 2003. The site has been derelict since 2003, and was proposed for demolition by Wrexham council, ...

in the town he went up to

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

in 1911, and after graduating in

, joined the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

(2nd West Lancashire Field Ambulance) in 1914 with whom he saw active service in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Dodd was appointed

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

in history at the University College of North Wales in 1919, and succeeded Sir

John Edward Lloyd Sir John Edward Lloyd (5 May 1861 – 20 June 1947) was a Welsh historian. Early life and eduction John Edward Lloyd was born in Liverpool on 5 May 1861. He was educated in the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth (which later become ...

as professor of history there in 1930, remaining until his retirement in 1958. He also taught in the Extra-Mural Department, and was stalwart of the Workers' Educational Association and the

Cambrian Archaeological Association The Cambrian Archaeological Association () was founded in 1846 to examine, preserve and illustrate the ancient monuments and remains of the history, language, manners, customs, arts and industries of Wales and the Welsh Marches and to educate t ...

. In retirement he was curator of Bangor Museum, and taught at Bangor Normal College (then St Mary's Educational College, now part of the University of Bangor). He was a founder member of the

Historical Society, and edited a history of Wrexham to coincide with the Borough Centenary Celebration in 1957. He was made a

freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

of the Borough of Wrexham in 1963. A centenary celebration of his birth was held in Wrexham in 1991. Though not a native speaker, Dodd was a supporter of the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

and brought up his children as Welsh speakers, at a time when the language had far less social status.

Bibliography

* ''The Industrial Revolution in North Wales'' (1933) * ''Studies in Stuart Wales'' (1952) * ''The Growth of Responsible Government from James the First to Victoria'' (1956) * ''Life in Elizabethan England'' (1961) * ''A History of Caernarvonshire'' (1968) * ''Life in Wales'' (1972) * ''A Short History of Wales'' (1977) (published posthumously)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodd, A. H. Members of the Cambrian Archaeological Association 20th-century Welsh historians Military personnel from Wrexham Alumni of New College, Oxford 1891 births 1975 deaths People educated at Grove Park School, Wrexham Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers British Army personnel of World War I