Robert Shackleton CBE (25 November 1919 – 9 September 1986) was an English

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

and

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

. Shackleton was born in Todmorden, West Riding of Yorkshire. He was educated at Oriel College, Oxford, and taught French at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

, from 1946 to 1966. He also served as college librarian from 1948 to 1966. From 1966 to 1979 he served as Bodley's Librarian, the director of the Bodleian Library. In 1983-84 he held the Lyell Readership in Bibliography and lectured on "The Bibliographical History of Montesquieu." From 1979 to 1986 he was Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature at the university, a position that carried with it a Fellowship at All Souls College, Oxford. He was appointed a

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 ...

(CBE) in 1986. He was a bibliophile who amassed a considerable collection of books relating to the Enlightenment, much of which is now in the John Rylands Library in Manchester. He also bequeathed a collection of c.1,000 volumes concerning Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755) to the Bodleian Library. He is the author of ''Montesquieu: A Critical Biography'' a standard introduction to Montesquieu's life and thought as well as to the historical and intellectual background.Shackleton, Robert. ''Montesquieu : A Critical Biography.'' 1961. London: Oxford University Press.

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Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

Memorial essay in the Proceedings of the British Academy
1919 births 1986 deaths People from Todmorden Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford English philologists Bodley's Librarians English librarians Fellows of Brasenose College, Oxford Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Marshal Foch Professors of French Literature English book and manuscript collectors Liberal Party (UK) politicians {{UK-linguist-stub