Isaac Adeagbo Akinjogbin, also known as I. A. Akinjogbin, was a Nigerian writer and historian. Akinjogbin engaged in extensive and thorough cultural and historical research, looking into a variety of Yoruba cultural, historical, and ideological processes and issues. Most African historiography considers the well-known work ''Dahomey and Its Neighbors, 1708–1818'' to be a masterpiece.

Life and work

Akinjogbin, who was born in 1930 in Ipetumodu, Ife North Local Government Area, Osun State, Nigeria, attended Christ Church School Ipetumodu and Origbo Central School,

Ipetumodu Ipetumodu () is a city in Osun State, in the southwestern part of Nigeria. It is the headquarters of the Ife North local government area. The city is under the leadership of traditional ruler with the title of Apetumodu, which means "one who kill ...

between 1940 and 1946. He also attended Ijebu Ode Grammar School between 1946 and 1950,

Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university-le ...

in Freetown between 1952 and 1954, and later the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

in England, where he earned his B.A. (Hons.) in Modern History in 1957. Akinjogbin served as a Junior Research Fellow for the Yoruba Historical Research Scheme, which was run by

Saburi Biobaku Saburi Oladeni Biobaku CMG (1918–2001) was a Nigerian scholar, a historian who was among a set of Yoruba historians who followed the pioneering effort of Samuel Johnson in setting the foundations of Yoruba historiography and creating reference ...

, between 1957 and 1960. He was sent back to England in this capacity to undertake research at the London Public Records Office. He was appointed a Commonwealth Scholar at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies in 1960. He received a Ph.D in African History in 1963. He began working at the University of Ife in the same year as a lecturer in the history department. He was named the Institute of African Studies' acting director in 1965, and in 1968, after being promoted to full professor, he was named the department's permanent head.

Works

* ''War and Peace in Yorubaland, 1793–1893'' * ''The impact of iron in Yorubaland'' * ''Olókun; iwe àtìgbàdégbà ni Àtàtà Yoruba 2 September 1960'' * ''Dahomey and Its Neighbours, 1708–1818''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akinjogbin, Isaac Adeagbo 1930 births 2008 deaths Nigerian historians Yoruba writers Yoruba academics Nigerian writers Nigerian academics