Karl Joseph Leyser (24 October 1920 – 27 May 1992) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

-born

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

who was Fellow and Tutor in History,

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, from 1948 to 1984, and

Chichele Professor of Medieval History Chichele is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Henry Chichele ( 1364–1443), English religious leader **Chichele Professorship *Thomas Chichele Sir Thomas Chicheley (25 March 1614 – 1 February 1699) of Wimpole Hall, Cambridg ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, from 1984 to 1988. Because he was Jewish, he escaped the Nazis before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was commissioned into the

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

in June 1944 and saw active service with the 7th Battalion in North-West Europe. He was married to

Henrietta Leyser Henrietta Leyser is an English historian. She is an expert on the history of medieval England, in particular the role of women. Career Leyser is an Emeritus fellow at St Peter's College, Oxford and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. ...

. Their daughter is the plant biologist

Ottoline Leyser Dame Henrietta Miriam Ottoline Leyser (born 7 March 1965) is a British plant biologist and Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Cambridge, Chief Executive Officer of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Sainsbury Laboratory, ...

and their son the medievalist Conrad Leyser.

References

1920 births 1992 deaths British medievalists Fellows of the British Academy 20th-century British historians Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford Chichele Professors of Medieval History Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Black Watch officers British Army personnel of World War II {{UK-historian-stub