Robert Thomas Jenkins CBE (31 August 1881 – 11 November 1969) was a Welsh historian and academic.

Life

Jenkins was born on 31 August 1881 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. He moved with his family to

Bangor, Gwynedd Bangor (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, north Wales. It is the oldest city in Wales. Historic counties of Wales, Historically part of Caernarfonshire, the community had a ...

, when his father was appointed clerk to the registrar of the newly established University College of North Wales. However, both of his parents had died by 1888 and he was then brought up by his maternal grandparents in

Bala, Gwynedd Bala () is a town and community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, Wales. Formerly an Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), urban district, Bala lies in the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merionethshire, at the north end of Bal ...

. He was baptised by Thomas Charles Edwards and studied at Bala Grammar School before winning a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

to the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, obtaining a first-class degree in English in 1901. He then studied history and English at

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 ...

before teaching in Llandysul (1904), in

Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...

(1904 to 1917) and at the City of Cardiff High School for Boys (1917 to 1930). Whilst he was a teacher, his interest in history deepened and he began to start writing articles on historical topics. In 1928, he published a history of Wales in the 18th century, with further books following in 1930, the year that he was appointed a lecturer at the University of Wales Bangor. He was assistant editor, then joint editor, of ' and its English-language counterpart, '' The Dictionary of Welsh Biography'', writing over 600 entries. He was appointed to a professorship at Bangor in 1945 and retired from the university in 1948, although he continued to work. He co-wrote a history of the

Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion (), often called simply the Cymmrodorion, is a London-based Wales, Welsh learned society, with membership open to all. It was first established in 1751 as a Social club, social, cultural, literary society, l ...

in 1951, the year of its 200th anniversary. He was awarded the CBE in 1956. He died on 11 November 1969.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Robert Thomas 1881 births 1969 deaths 20th-century Welsh historians Welsh schoolteachers Alumni of Aberystwyth University Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Academics of Bangor University Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Academics from Liverpool People from Bangor, Gwynedd People from Bala, Gwynedd