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
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