Richard Bonney (1947 – 4 August 2017) was an English historian and priest. He was appointed Lecturer in European History 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, ...

in 1971 and Professor of Modern History 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 ...

in 1984, a post from which he retired in 2006. He was the founder of the

Society for the Study of French History The Society for the Study of French History (SSFH) is a society in the United Kingdom established to promote research in French history. The society was founded in 1968 by Richard Bonney and granted charitable status in 1992. It publishes the ...

in the UK and the founding Editor of its Journal, French History, between 1987 and 2001. He is ''Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques'' for services to French culture. He was educated at

Whitgift School Whitgift School is an independent day school with limited boarding in South Croydon, London. Along with Trinity School of John Whitgift and Old Palace School it is owned by the Whitgift Foundation, a charitable trust. The school was prev ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. Bonney's first degree was 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 ...

. He submitted his D.Phil. on the intendants of

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...

and

Cardinal Mazarin Jules Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), from 1641 known as Cardinal Mazarin, was an Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Lou ...

(1624-1661) in 1973, which was subsequently revised and published as ''Political Change in France under Richelieu and Mazarin, 1624-1661'' by Oxford in 1978. Numerous other publications on French history and European fiscal history followed. He published: ''The King’s Debts. Finance and Politics in France, 1589-1661'' (1981); ''Society and Government in France under Richelieu and Mazarin, 1624-61'' (1988); ''L’absolutisme'' (1989); ''The European Dynastic States, 1494-1660'' (1991); ith M. M. Bonney''Jean-Roland Malet: premier historien des finances de la monarchie française'' (1993); (ed.) ''Economic Systems and State finance'' (1995; French edn. 1996); ''The Limits of Absolutism in ancien régime France'' (1995); (ed.) ''The Rise of the Fiscal State in Europe, c.1200-1815'' (1989); ith W.M. Ormrod and M.M. Bonney ''Crises, Revolutions and Self-Sustained Growth. Essays in European fiscal history, 1130-1830'' (1989); ''The Thirty Years’ War'' (2002); Harvest of Hatred. The Concerned Citizens' Tribunal Report on Gujarat (2002); ''Three Giants of South Asia: Gandhi, Ambedkar and Jinnah on Self-Determination'' (New Delhi, 2004). In 1997 he was ordained as a priest in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. His work on

religious pluralism Religious pluralism is an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religion, religious belief systems co-existing in society. It can indicate one or more of the following: * Recognizing and Religious tolerance, tolerating the religio ...

, and particularly his study on ''Jihad from Qur'an to Bin Laden'' (2004), has been frequently cited. In 2008 he published ''False Prophets. The Clash of Civilizations and the Global War against Terrorism'' and in 2009 ''The Nazi War on Christianity: the Kulturkampf Newsletters, 1936-1939''. Together with Tridivesh Singh Maini and Tahir Malik, he published ''Warriors after War. Indian and Pakistani Retired Military Leaders Reflect on Relations between the Two Countries, Past, Present and Future'' (2011).

External links

* OWN, 2014, "Publications with a Whitgiftian Interest: Reverend Professor Richard Bonney (1957-1965)," in ''Old Whitgiftian News,'' 8th ed., 2013–2104, p. 9, se

accessed 11 June 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonney, Richard 1947 births 2017 deaths Alumni of the University of Oxford English historians 21st-century English Anglican priests Academics of the University of Leicester People educated at Whitgift School