Arthur Burns (7 February 1963 – 3 October 2023) was a British historian who was Professor of Modern

British History The history of the British Isles began with its sporadic human habitation during the Palaeolithic from around 900,000 years ago. The British Isles has been continually occupied since the early Holocene, the current geological epoch, which star ...

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

Early life and education

Arthur Burns was born in Barnard Castle, County Durham on 7 February 1963. He was educated at Ludlow College (1974–1981) and then read modern history at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

. He received a BA in 1984, later promoted to MA in 1989. He was awarded a PhD by

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

in 1990 for a thesis entitled ''The Diocesan Revival in the Church of England c.1825-1865''.

Academic career

Burns was appointed a lecturer in history at King's College London in 1992. He was promoted to senior lecturer in 2002 and to Professor of Modern British History in 2005. He was head of the Department of History from 2004 to 2008 and Vice-Dean for Education, Faculty of Arts and Humanities from 2014 to 2017. Burns specialised in the history of English religion since the mid-eighteenth century, and particularly the history of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. Burns co-founded and co-edited the Boydell and Brewer monograph series ''Studies in Modern British Religious History''. He was a fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

, and from 2012 to 2016 was its Vice President (Education), overseeing policy on the teaching of History in both schools and universities; he previously served as one of its Literary Directors. In 2015 he was awarded an honorary fellowship of the Historical Association, in 2016 he was appointed President of the Church of England Record Society, and in 2017 he was appointed academic director of the Georgian Papers Programme at King's.

Death

Burns died from cancer on 3 October 2023, at the age of 60.

Selected publications

*''The Diocesan Revival in the Church of England, c. 1800–1870'' (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1999). *(Edited with Joanna Innes) ''Rethinking the Age of Reform: Britain, 1780–1850'' (

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 2003). *(Edited with Derek Keene and Andrew Saint) ''St Paul’s: The Cathedral Church of London, 604–2004'' (

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...

, 2004; awarded 2004 Berger prize for British Art History). *"Beyond the 'Red Vicar': Christian Socialism and Community in Thaxted, Essex, ''c''. 1910–84", '' History Workshop Journal'' (2013). *(Edited with Paul Readman and Chad Bryant) ''Walking Histories 1800–1914'' (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016).

References

External links

Clergy of the Church of England Database.Georgian Papers Programme
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Arthur 1963 births 2023 deaths Academics of King's College London History of the Church of England Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Historical Society