Colin Henderson Roberts (8 June 1909 – 11 February 1990) was a classical scholar and publisher. He was Secretary to the Delegates of Oxford University Press between 1954 and 1974.

Biography

Roberts was born on 8 June 1909 in Queen Elizabeth Walk,

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...

, London. His elder brother, Brian Richard Roberts, was later the editor of '' The Sunday Telegraph''. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

, where he read Classics, taking

Firsts First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

in both

Honour Moderations Honour Moderations (or ''Mods'') are a set of examinations at the University of Oxford at the end of the first part of some degree courses (e.g., Greats or '' Literae Humaniores''). Honour Moderations candidates have a class awarded (hence the ' ...

and '' literae humaniores'' and was elected to the Craven University Fellowship. In 1934 he was elected a Junior Research Fellow at St John's, and remained a fellow there until 1976. Under the influence of his tutors, Roberts became interested in papyrology and in the history of the book in ancient times. He participated in the excavations at Karanis organized by the University of Michigan, and published some Biblical papyri in the collections of the John Rylands Library. During World War II, he worked in intelligence in London and Bletchley Park. In 1948 he was elected Reader in Documentary Papyrology at Oxford. In 1954 Roberts succeeded A. L. P. Norrington as Secretary to the Delegates of Oxford University Press, holding the post until 1974. During his tenure he oversaw the publication of the '' New English Bible''.

Awards

He was appointed CBE in 1973. Roberts was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # C ...

in 1947, but resigned (along with his friend T. C. Skeat) in 1979, in protest against its decision not to expel the traitor

Anthony Blunt Anthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 – 26 March 1983), styled Sir Anthony Blunt KCVO from 1956 to November 1979, was a leading British art historian and Soviet spy. Blunt was professor of art history at the University of London, dire ...

from the fellowship.

Works

*''Manuscript, Society and Belief in Early Christian Egypt'', C. H. Roberts, Hon. D. Litt., 1977. *''Birth of the Codex'', by Colin Henderson Roberts,

Theodore Cressy Skeat Theodore Cressy Skeat (15 February 1907 — 25 June 2003) was a librarian at the British Museum, where he worked as Assistant Keeper (from 1931), Deputy Keeper (from 1948), and Keeper of Manuscripts and Egerton Librarian (from 1961 to 1972). Skeat ...

, 1954. *''Two Biblical Papyri in the John Rylands Library'', Manchester, 1936. *''The Antinoopolis Papyri ... Edited with translations and notes'',1950, by C. H. Robers, etc. With plates, by John Wintour Baldwin Barns, Colin Henderson Roberts *''Oxford Palaeographical Handbooks'', 1955. General editors: R. W. Hunt, C. H. Roberts, F. Wormald

References

1909 births 1990 deaths British biblical scholars British classical scholars Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British publishers (people) British papyrologists Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of St John's College, Oxford People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood 20th-century British businesspeople {{UK-academic-bio-stub