Michael John Bentley (born 12 August 1948)'BENTLEY, Michael (John) 1948-'
''encyclopedia.com''. Retrieved 11 October 2021. is an English historian of British politics in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He is

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 History at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

and is currently Senior Research Fellow in History at

St Hugh's College, Oxford St Hugh's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a ...

. He is the biographer of the historian

Herbert Butterfield Sir Herbert Butterfield (7 October 1900 – 20 July 1979) was an English historian and philosopher of history, who was Regius Professor of Modern History and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He is remembered chiefly for a sh ...

, a former Master of

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...

Early life and career

Bentley was born in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, in 1948, the son of Peter and Jessie Bentley. He attended the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in history in 1969, before proceeding to postgraduate study at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

. From 1977 to 1995 Bentley taught history at Sheffield. He then moved to the University of St Andrews, where he was appointed Professor of Modern History; he is now Emeritus. As of 2021, he is Senior Research Fellow and Stipendiary Lecturer in History at

. In 2011 he was made a 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 ...

Critical reaction

Boyd Hilton has called Bentley's ''Politics Without Democracy 1815–1914'' "a wonderfully 'inside' account of life at the top", whilst K. Theodore Hoppen claims the book "provides an interesting (if allusive) study of attitudes".

Personal life

Bentley is married to the historian Sarah Foot.

Works

*''The Liberal Mind, 1914–1929'' (1977) *''High and Low Politics in Modern Britain: Ten Studies'' (edited, with John Stevenson; 1983). *''Politics Without Democracy, 1815–1914'' (1984, 1996) *''The Climax of Liberal Politics'' (1987) *''Companion to Historiography'' (1997) *''Modern Historiography: An Introduction'' (1998) *''Lord Salisbury's World'' (2001) *''Modernizing England's Past: English Historiography in the Age of Modernism, 1870–1970 (The Wiles Lectures)'' (2006) *''The Life and Thought of Herbert Butterfield: History, Science and God'' (2011)

Early life and career

Critical reaction

Personal life

Works

References

Further reading