Sir John William Fortescue (28 December 1859 – 22 October 1933) was a British military historian. He was a historian of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and served as Royal Librarian and Archivist at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

from 1905 until 1926.

Early life

Fortescue was born on 28 December 1859 in

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

, the 5th son of Hugh, 3rd Earl Fortescue, by his wife Georgina, Countess Fortescue (née Dawson-Damer). His family owned much of the area around

Simonsbath Simonsbath () is a small village high on Exmoor in the England, English ceremonial county, county of Somerset. It is the principal settlement in the Exmoor civil parish, which is the largest and most sparsely populated civil parish on Exmoo ...

on Exmoor since the twelfth century. Fortescue was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, later lecturing at

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 ...

( DLitt (Oxon)).

Career

Fortescue is best known for his major work on the history of the British Army, which he wrote between 1899 and 1930. Between 1905 and 1926, he worked as the Royal Librarian at Windsor Castle. In 1911, Fortescue delivered the

Ford Lectures The Ford Lectures or the James Ford Lectures in British History, are an annual series of public lectures held at the University of Oxford on the subject of English or British history. They are usually devoted to a particular historical theme an ...

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 ...

. In 1920, he delivered the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

's Raleigh Lecture on History. He served as president 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 ...

from 1921 to 1925 and was elected an honorary fellow of

. Fortescue was appointed KCVO on the 1926 King's Birthday Honours List.

Personal life

In 1914, Fortescue married Winifred Beech, daughter of the Revd Howard Beech, Rector of

Great Bealings Great Bealings is a small village in Suffolk, England. It has about 302 people living in it in around 113 households. Its nearest towns are Ipswich ( away) and Woodbridge (). Nearby villages include Little Bealings, Playford, Culpho, Has ...

, Suffolk; they had no children. Lady Fortescue (who died in 1951) was a writer and actress. He died in Cannes on 22 October 1933 at the age of 73.John William Fortescue and Exmoor

Works

* * * 1897 ''The Story of a Red Deer'' * * 1899–1930 ''A History of the British Army'' (in thirteen volumes, taking the story up to 1870
Available online for downloading
* * * * * * * * * * 1930–1932 ''Royal Army Service Corps: A History of Transport and Supply in the British Army'' * * * *

References

External links

Biography from a site about his wife, Lady Fortescue
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fortescue, John 1859 births 1933 deaths Younger sons of earls

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...