Colin Craig Kidd (born 5 May 1964) is a historian who specialises in American and

Scottish history The recorded history of Scotland begins with the Scotland during the Roman Empire, arrival of the Roman Empire in the 1st century, when the Roman province, province of Roman Britain, Britannia reached as far north as the Antonine Wall. No ...

. He is Professor of History at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, after being Professor of Intellectual History and the History of Political Thought at

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

, where he has worked since he left the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

in 2010. Kidd is a fellow of

All Souls College All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...

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 ...

, and a contributor to the ''

London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of Book ...

'', where he commentates on current affairs, economics and politics, as well as reviewing literary works. Kidd was an undergraduate at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

, before winning the Prize Fellowship at All Souls to complete his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

. Before St Andrews, Kidd held fellowships at Belfast, Glasgow, Oxford and

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

Universities. In 2017 he delivered the British Academy's Raleigh Lecture on History. His own literary works include: ''Subverting Scotland's Past: Scottish Whig Historians and the Creation of an Anglo-British Identity 1689–1830'' (1993); ''British Identities Before Nationalism: Ethnicity and Nationhood in the Atlantic World, 1600–1800'' (1999); ''The Forging of Races: Race and Scripture in the Protestant Atlantic World, 1600–2000'' (2006); and ''Union and Unionisms: Political Thought in Scotland, 1500–2000'' (2008). All these are published by

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 ...

. Kidd was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2023 New Year Honours The 2023 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to history, culture and politics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidd, Colin 20th-century Scottish historians People educated at the Glasgow Academy Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Academics of the University of Glasgow Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Living people Fellows of the British Academy 1964 births Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 21st-century Scottish historians Officers of the Order of the British Empire Historians of Scotland