Andrew Dunlop Roberts (2 September 1937 – 16 October 2024) was a British historian of Africa. In 1998 he retired from the

School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

, as Emeritus Professor of the History of Africa.

Life and career

Andrew Roberts was the eldest child of two British writers, Michael Roberts and

Janet Adam Smith Janet Buchanan Adam Smith OBE (9 December 1905 – 11 September 1999) was a Scottish writer, editor, literary journalist, and champion of Scottish literature. She was active from the 1930s through to the end of the century. Leonard Miall wrot ...

. After studying at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, he undertook research in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

before working as an oral historian in

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

. He was a doctoral student of

Jan Vansina Jan M. J. Vansina (14 September 1929 – 8 February 2017) was a Belgian historian and anthropologist regarded as an authority on the history of Central Africa, especially of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi. ...

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, researching the history of the

Bemba people The Bemba belong to a large group of Bantu peoples, primarily in the Northern Province, Zambia, Northern, Luapula Province, Luapula, Muchinga Province, Muchinga and the northern Central Province, Zambia, Central Province of Zambia. The Bemba e ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

. His doctoral field research, originally conducted in 1964–1965, ultimately resulted in the 1973 monograph ''A history of the Bemba''. From 1968 to 1971 he was a research fellow at the

University of Zambia The University of Zambia (UNZA) is a public university located in Lusaka, Zambia. It is Zambia's largest and oldest learning institution. The university was established in 1965 and officially opened to the public on 12 July 1966. The language of ...

. Roberts later took up a post at the School of African and Oriental Studies, taking early retirement from SOAS in 1998. Roberts died on 16 October 2024, at the age of 87.

Works

* ''Tanzania before 1900''. Nairobi: Published for the Historical Association of Tanzania by the East African Publishing House, 1968. * ''Recording East Africa's past: a brief guide for the amateur historian ''. Nairobi: Published for the History Department, University College, Dar es Salaam, by the East African Publishing House, 1968. * ''A history of the Bemba; political growth and change in north-eastern Zambia before 1900''. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1973. * ''

A history of Zambia ''A history of Zambia'' is a non-fiction book by Andrew D. Roberts, first published in 1976 by Heinemann. Synopsis and structure Andrew Roberts’ ''A History of Zambia'' is recognized by scholars as a clear, well-structured, and balanced ...

''. London: Heinemann, 1976. * ''The Colonial moment in Africa : essays on the movement of minds and materials, 1900-1940''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986. * (ed.) ''

The Cambridge History of Africa ''The Cambridge History of Africa'' is an illustrated, eight-volume history of Africa published by Cambridge University Press between 1975 and 1986. Each volume is edited by a different person; the general editors of the series are John Donnelly ...

. Vol. 7: From 1905 to 1940''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Andrew D. 1937 births 2024 deaths British historians Historians of Africa Historians of Zambia Historians of Tanzania Academics of SOAS University of London