Todd Gray FRHistS, MBE (born 1958) is a historian of the county of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. Gray was born and raised in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, USA and first visited Devon on a school trip in 1973. He undertook a degree in London and then started studying for a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

in 1984. He completed his doctorate in 1988 and has since then been a

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

at the university. In 1992 he became a

Fellow of the Royal Historical Society A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

. Gray became a British citizen in 2006 and in 2014 he was awarded an MBE for voluntary services to Devon's history. He has been involved on the committees of many local organisations including Devon & Cornwall Notes & Queries (committee), the

Devonshire Association The Devonshire Association (DA) is a learned society founded in 1862 by William Pengelly and modelled on the British Association, but concentrating on research subjects linked to Devon in the fields of science, literature and the arts. History ...

(chairman and president), Devon History Society (committee), The Devon and Cornwall Record Society (chairman), Devon Gardens Trust, Devon Family History Society (president), the Centre for South-Western Historical Studies and the Friends of Devon's Archives (chairman). In 2006, based on a 16th-century document, Gray claimed that the

Cornish pasty A pasty () or Cornish pasty is a British baked turnover pastry, a variety of which is particularly associated with Cornwall, but has spread all over the British Isles, and elsewhere through the Cornish diaspora. It consists of a filling, ty ...

was in fact invented in Devon as early as 1460 which not only caused consternation in Cornwall, but was remarked upon as far away as China. Gray had published 48 books, 14 of which are about Exeter. Many of the books have been published through his own company, Mint Press. In November 2018 he was awarded the Honorary Freedom of the City of Exeter at a ceremony in the city's Guildhall.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Todd Living people 1958 births Academics of the University of Exeter Alumni of the University of Exeter American emigrants to England Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Historians of Devon Historians of slavery Members of the Order of the British Empire Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom People from Exeter