John Francis Pollard (born 23 November 1944) is a British historian, an emeritus fellow of

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

, fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

, and

Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

of Modern European History at

Anglia Ruskin University Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public research university in the region of East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins date back to the Cambridge School of Art (CSA), founded by William John Beamont, a Fellow of Trinity College at the Unive ...

. His research interests include fascist and neo-fascist movements, the ideology of present-day neo-Nazism, political and social

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and history of the nineteenth and twentieth century Italy and the

Papacy The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

Biography

Pollard was born in

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, on 23 November 1944. After graduating from South Shields Grammar-Technical School for Boys, he studied history at

, where he took his B.A. Degree in 1966 and M.A. in 1970. Pollard completed his

PhD 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 graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

, with a

Doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

– ''From the Conciliazione to the Riconciliazione: The Church and the Fascist Regime in Italy, 1929 to 1932''. In 1990, he received the title of Professor of Modern European History at Anglia Polytechnic University (APU). He took early retirement from APU in 2003,Visiting lecturers
but continues to teach undergraduate and graduate students as a Supervisor in the Faculty of History of the University of Cambridge. In 2019, he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters (Litt.D.) by the University of Cambridge.

Notable publications

* 2014 ''The Papacy in the Age of Totalitarianism, 1914-1958'',

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 ...

* * 2007 ''Catholicism in Modern Italy: Religion, Politics and Society, 1861-2005'',

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

* 2005 ''Money and the Rise of the Modern Papacy: Financing the Vatican, 1850-1950'',

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 ...

* 1999 ''The Unknown Pope: Benedict XV (1914-1922) and the Pursuit of Peace'', Geoffrey Chapman * 1998 ''The Fascist Experience in Italy'',

* 1985 ''The Vatican and Italian Fascism, 1929-1932: A Study in Conflict'',

References

External links

University of Cambridge profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollard, John F. Historians of the Catholic Church Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Fellows of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Living people 1944 births