Wilbur Kitchener Jordan (also known as W. K. Jordan), (1902-1980) was an American historian, specializing in sixteenth and seventeenth century

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. Raised in Lynnville, Indiana, Jordan received a bachelor's degree from Oakland City College in 1923, before earning a master's (1926) and doctoral (1931) degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Jordan went on to become a leading historian of sixteenth and seventeenth century England, accruing many honors, and producing books, including ''Men of Substance: Revolutionary Thinkers of 1640'' (1942), ''Philanthropy in England, 1480-1660'' (1959), and a two-volume study of the reign of

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

: ''Edward VI:The Threshold of Power'' (1968, 1970). Jordan's most enduring scholarly work, however, has been his four-volume ''The Development of Religious Toleration in England'', published from 1932 to 1940, in which Jordan documented the origins of religious

toleration Toleration is when one allows or permits an action, idea, object, or person that they dislike or disagree with. Political scientist Andrew R. Murphy explains that "We can improve our understanding by defining 'toleration' as a set of social or ...

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

, Stuart, and revolutionary England and the evolution of these ideas into the late seventeenth century, following the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. Though sometimes criticized for attributing too great an importance to skeptical and secular motives for toleration, this capacious and well-sourced work continues to provide the foundation for contemporary studies of the history of religious toleration in England. In 1943, Kitchener declined the presidency of the prestigious

Scripps College Scripps College is a private liberal arts women's college in Claremont, California. It was founded as a member of the Claremont Colleges in 1926, a year after the consortium's formation. Journalist and philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps pr ...

, and chose instead to become the fourth President of

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

(1943-1960). As President of Radcliffe College from 1943 to 1960, Jordan presided over a period of dramatic change at this prestigious women's college, promoting greater integration with nearby Harvard University and the adoption of a liberal arts curriculum, and becoming an early advocate of providing education for women essentially identical to that traditionally provided for men. Jordan's students, including

Natalie Zemon Davis Natalie Zemon Davis, (November 8, 1928 – October 21, 2023) was an American-Canadian historian of the early modern period. She was the Henry Charles Lea Professor of History at Princeton University. Her work originally focused on France, but ...

, benefited from this teaching philosophy.

Awards and honors

*1969: Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy.

References

Harvard University Library
Retrieved 1 February 2012

External links

Papers of Wilbur Kitchener Jordan, 1943-1965.Schlesinger Library
Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Wilbur Kitchener 1902 births 1980 deaths Presidents of Radcliffe College Harvard University alumni Oakland City University alumni 20th-century American Episcopalians Corresponding fellows of the British Academy