David McGregor Rogers (1917–1995) was a British librarian and bibliographer who was Head of Special Collections at the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

from 1978 until his retirement in 1984.

Life

Rogers was born in India on 29 May 1917, the son of an officer in the Indian Army, and spent his early childhood there. He was educated at

Downside School Downside School (formally The College of St Gregory the Great, Downside but simply referred to as Downside) is an 11–18 mixed, Roman Catholic, independent, day and boarding school in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset, England. It was establish ...

and at

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

. After serving in India and Burma during the Second World War, he returned to

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

and completed a doctorate with a thesis on clandestine Catholic printing in England during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. This was the first doctorate awarded at Oxford University for a thesis in the field of

bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliograph ...

. Rogers began working at the Bodleian while still a graduate student, and remained there throughout his professional life, retiring in 1984. He was instrumental in reviving the

Catholic Record Society The Catholic Record Society (Registered Charity No. 313529) is a scholarly society devoted to the study of peri- and post- Reformational Catholic Church in England and Wales founded in 1904. It has been described as "the premier Catholic histor ...

after the Second World War, together with Antony Allison of the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

and Thomas Birrell of

Nijmegen University Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, , formerly ) is a public research university located in Nijmegen, Netherlands. RU has seven faculties and more than 24,000 students. Established in 1923, Radboud University has consistently been included in ...

. He died at Blewbury, Oxfordshire, on 31 May 1995.

Publications

* with Antony Alison, ''Catalogue of Catholic Books Printed Abroad or Secretly in England, 1558–1640'' (1956) * with P.E. Russell, ''A Catalogue of Hispanic Manuscripts and Books before 1700 from the Bodleian Library and Oxford College Libraries Exhibited at the Taylor Institution 6–11 September 1962'' (1962) * with Antony Alison and W. Lottes, ''The Contemporary Printed Literature of the English Counter-Reformation between 1558 and 1640'' (2 vols, 1989–1994) * ''The Bodleian Library and its Treasures, 1320 to 1700'' (1991)

Life

Publications

References

Further reading