Theodore Cardwell Barker (19 July 1923 – 22 November 2001), usually known as Theo Barker, was a British social and economic historian.

Life

Barker was born in St Helens, Lancashire, England on 19 July 1923. After schooling in the area, he studied at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

, obtaining a first-class degree in Modern History from

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship S ...

in 1948. He obtained a doctorate from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

in 1951, on the 19th century history of St Helens. This led to his first book, co-written with a school contemporary, John Harris, who had been researching St Helens in the 18th century. ''A Merseyside Town in the Industrial Revolution'' (1954) was influential in the emerging field of urban history. After teaching at the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

for 1 year, Barker taught at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 mill ...

between 1953 and 1964, when he became Professor of Economic and Social History at the newly established

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

. In 1976, he returned to the LSE and retired in 1983. He died on 22 November 2001.

Works

His work on the history of St Helens led to his researching the history of Pilkington Glass, which was based in the town. He published ''Pilkington Brothers And The Glass Industry'' in 1960. He was also interested in transport history, co-authoring ''A History Of London Transport: The 19th Century'' (1963), and contributing extensively to the 1974 volume about the 20th century. This interest led to him becoming chairman of the Transport History Research Trust. Other writings on related topics included ''The Transport Contractors Of Rye'' (1982) and ''The Rise And Rise of Road Transport, 1600–1990'' (1993). He wrote histories of the

Worshipful Company of Carpenters The Worshipful Company of Carpenters is a livery company of the City of London. The Carpenters were traditionally different from a fellow wood-crafting company, the Worshipful Company of Joiners and Ceilers, in that carpenters utilised nails w ...

and Worshipful Company of Pewterers in 1968 and 1974 respectively. He served as president of the Railway and Canal Historical Society, as founding chairman of the Oral History Society and as secretary and then chairman of the British National Committee of Historians. He was not, however (despite his wishes), elected as a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # C ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Theo 1923 births 2001 deaths Economic historians Social historians Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Alumni of the University of Manchester Academics of the University of Aberdeen Academics of the London School of Economics Academics of the University of Kent 20th-century English historians