Arthur Geoffrey Dickens (6 July 1910 – 31 July 2001)
was an English

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 ...

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 ...

and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

, notable for his contributions to history surrounding

Tudor England Tudor most commonly refers to: * House of Tudor, Welsh and English royal house of Welsh origins ** Tudor period, a historical era in England and Wales coinciding with the rule of the Tudor dynasty Tudor may also refer to: Architecture * Tudor a ...

and the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

Early life

He was born in Hull,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, on 6 July 1910, and educated at Hymers College and

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

Second World War

He served during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. From May to October 1945 he served with the military government in

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

, where he had to supervise and edit the local newspaper.

Academic career

In 1949, Dickens was appointed professor of history at the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

, later becoming deputy principal and dean of the Faculty of Arts, 1950–53, and pro-vice-chancellor, 1959–62. He took up the post of professor of history at

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 ...

in 1962, where he remained until becoming director of the

Institute of Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate Hou ...

(IHR) and professor of history in the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, 1967–77. Dickens was also active in other bodies, including being president of the Ecclesiastical History Society, 1966–68; a member of the Advisory Council on Public Records, 1968–76; an advisor to the Council on the Export of Works of Art, 1968–76; secretary, chairman and general secretary of the British National Committee of Historical Sciences, 1967–79; foreign secretary of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

, 1969–79; and vice-president of the British Record Society, 1978–80. Dickens enjoyed "a deep love affair with Germany", was a moving force in the establishment of the German Historical Institute in London and was decorated by the German government. He died in London at the age of 91. His book on the

English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...

was, for many years the standard text on the subject, relying as it did on detailed examination of parish records. He was elected a fellow of the

in 1966.

Death and legacy

Papers of Professor Dickens are held by Senate House Library, University of London, and are available to be consulted there.http://archives.ulrls.lon.ac.uk/dispatcher.aspx?action=search&database=ChoiceArchive&search=IN=MS923

Selected publications

* ''Lübeck Diary''. Victor Gollancz Ltd., London 1947 * ''The English Reformation'', Batsford, 1964 * ''Lollards and Protestants in the Diocese of York'', 1959 * ''Thomas Cromwell and the English Reformation'', 1959 * ''Reformation and Society in Sixteenth Century Europe'', 1966 * ''Martin Luther and the Reformation'', 1967 * ''The Counter Reformation'', 1968 * ''The German Nation and Martin Luther'', 1974 * ''The Age of Humanism and Reformation'', 1977

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dickens, A. G. English non-fiction writers Reformation historians Fellows of the British Academy Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Academics of King's College London Presidents of the Ecclesiastical History Society 1910 births 2001 deaths Academics of the University of Hull British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery soldiers Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany English male non-fiction writers Anglican scholars 20th-century Anglicans 20th-century English male writers People educated at Hymers College