John Morris Roberts (14 April 1928 – 30 May 2003) was a British

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

with many published works. From 1979 to 1985, he was

vice chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth countr ...

of the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

, and from 1985 to 1994, he was warden of

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor ...

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 ...

. He also wrote and presented the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

TV series '' The Triumph of the West'', first broadcast in 1985.

Biography

Roberts was born in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, the son of a department store worker and educated at

Taunton School Taunton School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school, now co-educational, in the county town of Taunton in Somerset in South West England. It serves boarding and day-school pupils from the ages of 13 to 18. The current headmaster i ...

. He won a scholarship to

Keble College Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to ...

, Oxford, and took a first in

Modern History The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500, ...

in 1948.Guardian Obituary
Retrieved 13 July 2020 After

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

, he was elected a prize fellow of

Magdalen College Magdalen College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and one of the strongest academically, se ...

, Oxford, where he completed a doctoral thesis on the Italian republic set up during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1953 Roberts was elected a fellow and tutor in Modern History at

, Oxford, and in the same year, he went as a

Commonwealth Fund The Commonwealth Fund is a private American foundation whose stated purpose is to "promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, inc ...

fellow to

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

and

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

, where his interests broadened beyond European history. He returned to America three times as a visiting professor in the 1960s. In 1964 Roberts lectured for the British Council in India, and from 1966 to 1977 Roberts served as joint editor of the

English Historical Review ''The English Historical Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1886 and published by Oxford University Press (formerly by Longman). It publishes articles on all aspects of history – British, European, a ...

. From 1979 to 1985 Roberts was vice-chancellor of the

where he felt obliged to make unpopular cuts (

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

and

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

). Roberts could be an intimidating figure, even a "terrifying" one, but was described by colleagues as "a nice man, a very nice man, underneath it all". Roberts did not hesitate to take on ambitious subjects, and in 1976 he published ''The History of the World'', regularly updated in later years and still in print today. ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' described Roberts as "master of the broad brush-stroke", and in 1985 Roberts wrote and presented the thirteen-part BBC television series '' The Triumph of the West'', a series which painted a broad canvas but avoided simplistic solutions, encouraging the audience to think and reach its own conclusions. Later he served as a historical advisor to the BBC series ''

People's Century ''People's Century'' is a television documentary series examining the 20th century. It was a joint production of the BBC in the United Kingdom and PBS member station WGBH-TV, WGBH Boston in the United States. The series was first shown on BBC in ...

''. From 1985 to 1994 Roberts was

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

of Merton College, Oxford. At Merton he became an important figure in the expansion and development of postgraduate studies. He also took up other roles, serving as a governor of the BBC from 1988 to 93 and as a trustee of

Rhodes House Rhodes House is a building part of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on South Parks Road in central Oxford, and was built in memory of Cecil Rhodes, an alumnus of the university and a major benefactor. It is Listed building#En ...

from 1988 to 94. In 1994 he retired and returned to his native Somerset. In 1996, Roberts was appointed

CBE 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 ...

for his 'services to education and history' and made a Cavalier of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

in 1991. Roberts died in 2003, at

Roadwater Roadwater is a village south-west of Williton, on the northern edge of the Exmoor National Park, in Somerset, England. History The village was formerly known as ''Rode'' and had a mill by 1243. During the 18th and 19th centuries there were a la ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, shortly after completing the fourth revised edition of ''The New History of the World''.

Legacy

The John Roberts Memorial Fund was established in his honour at Merton College in 2003, with the aim of increasing the financial support available to

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

and

graduate student Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have ...

s. The college hoped that the first recipient would be a history graduate. When Roberts' ''The Mythology of the Secret Societies'' was republished in 2008, the back cover contained the following message: "We are living at a time when

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

are rife and the notion of secret plans for world domination under the guise of religious

cults Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ha ...

or secret societies is perhaps considered more seriously than ever."

Personal life

On 10 September 1960, at

Milton Abbas Milton Abbas is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England, lying around southwest of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 Census the civil parish had a population of 755. This planned community was built after the old Town was demolished in the 1 ...

, Roberts married (Mariabella) Rosalind Gardiner. The marriage was dissolved in 1964. At Oxford on 29 August 1964 Roberts married Judith Cecilia Mary Armitage, a schoolteacher, and they had one son and two daughters.

Selected works

*''Europe: 1880–1945'' (London: Longmans, 1967. 2nd corrected and revised edition, 1970. 3rd edition, 2000 ) *''The Mythology of the Secret Societies'' (1972; reprint edition, Watkins, 2008 ) *''History of the World'' (New York:

Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...

, 1976). *''Revolution and Improvement: The Western World, 1775–1847'' (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1976). *''The French Revolution'' (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1978). *''An Illustrated World History'' (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1980. 8 volumes) *''The Age of Upheaval: The World since 1914'' (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1981). *''The Triumph of the West: The Origin, Rise, and Legacy of

Western Civilization Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompasses the social no ...

'' (London:

British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...

, 1985). *''A Short History of the World'' (1993). *''A History of Europe'' (New York: 1996). *''The Age of Diverging Traditions'' (London:

Time-Life Time Life, Inc. (also habitually represented with a hyphen as Time-Life, Inc., even by the company itself) was an American multi-media conglomerate company formerly known as a prolific production/publishing company and Direct marketing, direct ...

, 1998). *''The Age of Revolution'' (London: Time-Life, 1998). *''

Eastern Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan ...

and

Classical Greece Classical Greece was a period of around 200 years (the 5th and 4th centuries BC) in ancient Greece,The "Classical Age" is "the modern designation of the period from about 500 B.C. to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C." ( Thomas R. Mar ...

'' (London: Time-Life, 1998). *''The Penguin History of the Twentieth Century'' (1999). *''Twentieth Century: A History of the World From 1901 to the Present'' (London: Allen Lane, 1999). *''The New History of the World'' (6th Edition, 2013 )

References

External links

Portrait of John Morris Roberts by Tai-Shan Schierenberg on the Art UK website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, John 1928 births 2003 deaths Theorists on Western civilization People educated at Taunton School Fellows of Merton College, Oxford Wardens of Merton College, Oxford Vice-chancellors of the University of Southampton Alumni of Keble College, Oxford 20th-century British historians Writers from Bath, Somerset Historians of the University of Oxford Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford History journal editors