Donald Geoffrey Charlton (born Bolton, 8 April 1925; died Tenerife, 22 December 1995) was a Professor of French at the

University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...

from 1964 to 1989.

Education and career

Charlton was educated at

Bolton School Bolton School is an independent day school in Bolton, Greater Manchester. It comprises a co-educational nursery, co-educational infant school (ages 3–7), single sex junior schools (ages 7–11) and single sex senior schools including sixth fo ...

and briefly went on to study philosophy at

St Edmund Hall, Oxford St Edmund Hall (sometimes known as The Hall or informally as Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any universit ...

before joining the Royal Navy as an interpreter for French and German. After the War, he matriculated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge to read modern languages. He graduated in 1948 with first-class honours, and was soon appointed as a lecturer at University College Hull (chartered as the

University of Hull , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...

in 1954). While lecturing at Hull, Charlton completed a PhD at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

supervised by H. J. Hunt. After fifteen years as a lecturer at Hull University (1949-1964), he was appointed the first Professor of French at Warwick University in 1964, remaining there until his retirement in 1989. In 1983 he delivered the

Gifford Lectures The Gifford Lectures () are an annual series of lectures which were established in 1887 by the will of Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford. Their purpose is to "promote and diffuse the study of natural theology in the widest sense of the term – in o ...

at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. After his retirement he was presented with a

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

: ''French Literature, Thought and Culture in the Nineteenth Century: A Material World'' (1993).

Works

As author

*''Positivist Thought in France during the Second Empire, 1852-1870'' (1959) *''Secular Religions in France, 1815-1870'' (1963) *''New Images of the Natural in France: A Study in European Cultural History 1750-1800'' (1984)

As editor

*''France: A Companion to French Studies'' (1972) *''The French Romantics'' (1984)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlton, Donald 1925 births 1995 deaths People educated at Bolton School Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Hull Academics of the University of Warwick