Sir George Walter Prothero (14 October 1848 – 10 July 1922) was an English historian, writer, and academic who served as president of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

from 1901 to 1905.

Life and writings

Prothero was born in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

George Prothero Sir George Walter Prothero (14 October 1848 – 10 July 1922) was an English historian, writer, and academic who served as president of the Royal Historical Society from 1901 to 1905. Life and writings Prothero was born in Wiltshire to Georg ...

, and was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

, studying classics at King's College at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, and at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

. He went on to become a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of King's College, working as a history

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

there from 1876. In 1894, he became the first Professor of Modern History at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. During his time in Edinburgh he spent a year as a Council member of the local influential conservationist body, the

Cockburn Association The Cockburn Association (Edinburgh's Civic Trust) is one of the world's oldest architectural conservation and urban planning monitoring organisations, founded in 1875. The Scottish judge Henry Cockburn (1779–1854) was a prominent campaigner t ...

. After five years as Professor of Modern History in Edinburgh, Prothero moved to London to take the place of his brother, Lord Ernle, as the editor of the ''

Quarterly Review The ''Quarterly Review'' was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River ...

'', a political

periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also examples ...

. He also acted as editor of the ''

Cambridge Historical Series Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

'', a set of historical books detailing the history of several European nations and other parts of the world which were published by Cambridge University Press from 1894 onwards. With A. W. Ward and

Stanley Mordaunt Leathes Sir Stanley Mordaunt Leathes (7 May 1861 – 25 July 1938) was a British poet, economist, historian and senior Civil Service administrator, being the First Civil Service Commissioner from 1910 to 1927. Early life Leathes was born in London, the ...

he edited the ''

Cambridge Modern History ''The Cambridge Modern History'' is a comprehensive modern history of the world, beginning with the 15th century Age of Discovery, published by the Cambridge University Press in England and also in the United States. The first series, planned by ...

'' between 1901 and 1912. In 1903 he was invited to give the

Rede Lecture The Sir Robert Rede's Lecturer is an annual appointment to give a public lecture, the Sir Robert Rede's Lecture (usually Rede Lecture) at the University of Cambridge. It is named for Sir Robert Rede, who was Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in th ...

, on which occasion he spoke on the topic of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

and the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Empire, Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the French Second Republic, Second and the French Third Republic ...

. In 1904–1906 he was a member of the

Royal Commission for Ecclesiastical Discipline Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

. Following the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Prothero worked as Historical Advisor to the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

, and in this capacity attended the

Paris Peace Conference of 1919 Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. For his services to the war effort, he was created Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1920. He was married to Fanny (née Butcher), one of the 12 members of the Cambridge

Ladies Dining Society The Ladies Dining Society was a private women's dining and discussion club, based at Cambridge University. It was founded in 1890 by the author Louise Creighton and the women's activist Kathleen Lyttelton. Its members, most of whom were marr ...

. He died in 1922.

Selected publications

''The Life of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester''
(1877)

(1888) *''Select Statutes and other Documents Illustrative of the Reigns of Elizabeth and James I'' (1894)

*''The British History Reader'' (1898) *''

'' (1902–1912), co-editor *
Peace handbooks
' (published c. 1920), Briefing books on countries, territorial and economic questions, prepared on behalf of the

for British negotiators at the

Notes

References

*''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', "Prothero, Sir George Walter (1848–1922), historian" by Algernon Cecil, rev. Peter R. H. Slee.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prothero, George Walter 1848 births 1922 deaths 19th-century British historians Presidents of the Royal Historical Society Fellows of the Royal Historical Society People educated at Eton College Fellows of King's College, Cambridge University of Bonn alumni Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the British Academy 20th-century English historians