John Gareth Darwin (born 29 June 1948) is a British historian and academic, who specialises in the history of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. From 1984 to 2019, he was the Beit Lecturer in Commonwealth History at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, 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 List of oldest un ...

and a Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford.Anon (2017) He was a lecturer in history at the University of Reading between 1972 and 1984.

Early life and education

Darwin was born on 29 June 1948 in Exeter, Devon, England. He was educated at Brockenhurst Grammar School, a mixed-sex state grammar school in Brockenhurst, Hampshire. He studied history at St John's College, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree; as per tradition, his BA was promoted to a Master of Arts (MA Oxon) degree. He later undertook postgraduate research at Nuffield College, Oxford, and completed his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1978 on the coalition government of David Lloyd George and Britain's imperial policy in Egypt and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

between 1918 and 1922.

Career

From 1972 to 1984, Darwin was a lecturer in history at the University of Reading. In 1984, he moved to the

where he had been appointed the Beit Lecturer in the History of the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

. That year, he was also elected a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of Nuffield College, Oxford. Since October 2014, he had been the Director of the Oxford Centre for Global History. In November 2014, he was granted a Title of Distinction as Professor of Global and Imperial History. As of 2019, he is retired. His current research is into the role of the great port cities of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Honours and awards

In 2008, Darwin was awarded the Wolfson History Prize for his book ''After Tamerlane: The Global History of Empire since 1405''. In 2012, he was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters 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 t ...

(FBA). He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to the study of global history.

Publications

* ''Britain, Egypt, and the Middle East: Imperial Policy in the Aftermath of War, 1918–1922'' (May 1981) * ''The Empire of the Bretaignes, 1175–1688: The Foundations of a Colonial System of Government: Select Documents on the Constitutional History of The ... Volume I (Documents in Imperial History)'' (1985) * ''Britain and Decolonisation: The Retreat from Empire in the Post-War World (Making of the 20th Century)'' (1988) * ''The End of the British Empire: The Historical Debate (Making Contemporary Britain)'' (1991) * ''After Tamerlane: The Global History of Empire Since 1405'' (2008) * ''The Empire Project: The Rise and Fall of the British World-System, 1830–1970'' (2009) * ''Unfinished Empire: The Global Expansion of Britain'' (2013) *''Unlocking the World: Port Cities and Globalization in the Age of Steam, 1830–1930'' (2020)

Personal life

In 1973, Darwin married Caroline Atkinson. Together they have three daughters.

References