Dame Olwen Hufton (born 1938) is a British historian of early modern Europe and a pioneer of social history and of women's history. She is an expert on

early modern The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

, western European comparative socio-cultural history with special emphasis on gender, poverty, social relations, religion and work. Since 2006 she has been a part-time Professorial Research Fellow at

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. It ...

Biography

Born in 1938 in

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

to Joseph and Caroline Hufton, Olwen Hufton was awarded a scholarship at a local grammar school, and became the only

council house A council house, corporation house or council flat is a form of British Public housing in the United Kingdom, public housing built by Local government in the United Kingdom, local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing ...

child in her form. From there she went to

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

(UCL), where she encountered Alfred Cobban, the great revisionist historian of the French Revolution. Hufton's academic career began as a lecturer at the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

from 1963 to 1966. From Leicester she moved to 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, ...

, where she taught for more than twenty years; and then to

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

, where from 1987 to 1991 she was the University's first Professor of Modern History and Women's Studies. After four years in America, she returned to Europe in 1991 to become Professor of History and Civilisation at the

European University Institute The European University Institute (EUI) is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral research-intensive university and an intergovernmental organisation with juridical personality, established by its founding member states to contribu ...

in Florence. Six years later, in 1997, she returned to Britain to become Leverhulme Professor of History 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 ...

. She retired in 2003, and is now Fellow Emeritus 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 ...

. In 2006 she joined Royal Holloway as a part-time Professorial Research Fellow in the History Department.

Honours and recognition

Hufton is a Fellow of 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 ...

(1998) and 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 ...

. She was made a

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

(DBE) in 2004. She holds honorary fellowships at UCL and Royal Holloway; and honorary degrees from

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. The

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

hosts a Hufton Postgraduate Reading Group centred on women's history. In 2006, she was presented with a ''

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

'', edited by Ruth Harris and Lyndal Roper, and published by

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 ...

, entitled ''The Art of Survival: Gender and History in Europe, 1450–2000''.

Personal life

Olwen Hufton married Brian Dermot Taunton Murphy (born 27 June 1934) on 3 July 1965; the couple has two daughters.

Publications

* ''Bayeux in the Late Eighteenth Century''. (Oxford, 1967) * ''The Poor of Eighteenth-Century France'' (Oxford, 1974) * ''Women and the Limits of Citizenship in the French Revolution'' (Toronto, 1992) * ''The Prospect Before her: A History of Women in Western Europe, I: 1500-1800'' (London, 1995) * ''Europe: Privilege and Protest 1730-1789'' (Oxford, 2000).

References

External links

British Academy record
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hufton, Olwen 1938 births British women historians British writers Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Living people Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Royal Historical Society People from Oldham Fellows of Merton College, Oxford Alumni of University College London Academics of the University of Leicester Academics of the University of Reading Harvard University faculty Academics of Royal Holloway, University of London Wolfson History Prize winners Historians of the University of Oxford Date of birth missing (living people)