![Warwick Regius Professor of Mathematics royal warrant](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Warwick_Regius_Professor_of_Mathematics_royal_warrant.jpg)
A Regius Professor
is a
university professor who has, or originally had,
royal patronage or appointment. They are a unique feature of
academia in the
United Kingdom and
Ireland. The
first Regius Professorship was in the field of medicine, and founded by the Scottish King
James IV
James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauch ...
at the
University of Aberdeen in 1497. Regius chairs have since been instituted in various universities, in disciplines judged to be fundamental and for which there is a continuing and significant need. Each was established by an English, Scottish, or British monarch, and following proper advertisement and interview through the offices of the university and the national government, the current monarch still appoints the professor (except for those at the
University of Dublin in Ireland, which left the United Kingdom in 1922). This royal imprimatur, and the relative rarity of these professorships, means a Regius chair is prestigious and highly sought-after.
Regius Professors are traditionally addressed as "Regius" and not "Professor". The
University of Glasgow currently has the highest number of extant Regius chairs, at fourteen.
Traditionally, Regius Chairs only existed in the seven
ancient universities
The ancient universities are British and Irish medieval universities and early modern universities founded before the year 1600. Four of these are located in Scotland, two in England, and one in Ireland. The ancient universities in Britain and I ...
of the UK and Ireland. In October 2012 it was announced that Queen
Elizabeth II would create up to six new Regius Professorships, to be announced in early 2013, to mark her Diamond Jubilee. In January 2013 the full list was announced, comprising twelve new chairs, probably the largest number ever created in one year, and more than created in most centuries. In July 2015 it was announced that further Regius Professorships would be created to mark the Queen's 90th birthday.
University of Aberdeen
*
Regius Professor of Anatomy (1863)
*
Regius Professor of Botany
*
Regius Professor of English Literature
*
Regius Professor of Greek
*
Regius Professor of Humanity, formerly Regius Professor of
Classics
*
Regius Professor of Logic
*
Regius Professor of Mathematics (1703)
*
Regius Professor of Medicine, formerly Regius Professor of Materia Medica (1858)
*
Regius Professor of Moral Philosophy
*
Regius Professor of Natural History
*
Regius Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, formerly Regius Professor of
Midwifery
Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many cou ...
(1858)
*Regius Professor of Pathology
*
Regius Professor of Physiology (1858)
*
Regius Professor of Surgery (1839)
Aston University
*
Regius Professor of Pharmacy
Cardiff University
*Regius Professor of Chemistry (2016)
University of Cambridge
*
Regius Professor of Botany (1724/2009)
*
Regius Professor of Civil Law (1540)
*
Regius Professor of Divinity (1540)
*
Regius Professor of Engineering (2011)
*
Regius Professor of Greek (1540)
*
Regius Professor of Hebrew (1540)
*
Regius Professor of History (1724)
*
Regius Professor of Physic (1540)
University of Dublin
*
Regius Professor of Divinity (1600/1761)
*
Regius Professor of Physic (1637?)
*
Regius Professor of Laws (1668)
*
Regius Professor of Feudal and English Law (1761–1934)
*
Regius Professor of Greek (1761)
*
Regius Professor of Surgery (1852/1868)
University of Dundee
*
Regius Professor of Life Sciences (2013)
University of Edinburgh
*
Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations (1707)
*
Regius Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature (1762)
*
Regius Professor of Astronomy (1785)
*
Regius Professor of Clinical Surgery
The Regius Chair of Clinical Surgery is a royal professorship in the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established by George III in 1802 in the university's Faculty of Medicine.
Regius Professors of Clinical Surgery
* Professor James R ...
(1803)
*
Regius Professor of Medical Science
*
Regius Professor of Forensic Medicine (1807)
*
Regius Professor of Sanskrit (1862) (now the Regius Professor of South Asian Language, Culture and Society)
*
Regius Professor of Engineering (1868)
*
Regius Professor of Geology (1871)
*
Regius Chair of Plant Science
University of Essex
*
Regius Professor of Political Science (2013)
University of Glasgow
*
Regius Professor of Medicine and Therapeutics
The Regius Chair of Medicine and Therapeutics is considered the oldest professor, chair at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1989 from the merge of the Regius Chairs of the Practice of Medicine (founded in 1637) and of Materia ...
(1637/1713)
*
Regius Professor of Materia Medica (1831–1989) (merged with the Regius chair in Medicine and Therapeutics)
*
Regius Professor of Law (1713)
*
Regius Professor of Anatomy (1718)
*
Regius Professor of Astronomy (1760)
*
Regius Professor of Zoology (1807)
*
Regius Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (1815)
*
Regius Professor of Surgery (1815)
*
Regius Professor of Chemistry (1817)
*
Regius Professor of Botany (1818)
*
Regius Professor of Forensic Medicine (1839)
*
Regius Professor of Physiology (1839)
*
Regius Professor of Civil Engineering and Mechanics
The Regius Chair of Civil Engineering and Mechanics at the University of Glasgow was founded in 1840 by Queen Victoria.
In 1872 the endowment was increased by the bequest of Isabella Elder in memory of her husband, John Elder. The name of the ch ...
(1840)
*
Regius Professor of English Language and Literature
The Regius Chair of English Language and Literature at the University of Glasgow was founded in 1861 by Queen Victoria, and is the only Regius Professorship in the Faculty of Arts.
History
The first professor appointed was John Nichol, a grad ...
(1861)
*
Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History
The Regius Chair of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Oxford was founded by Queen Victoria in 1842. Previous Holders of the chair include John McManners, Peter Hinchliff and Henry Mayr-Harting.
The current Regius Professor of Ecclesias ...
(1716–1935) (ceased being a Regius chair in 1935)
*
Regius Professor of Precision Medicine (2016)
*
Regius Professor of Law 2012
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine
*
Regius Professor of Engineering (2013)
*
Regius Professor of Infectious Disease (2016)
University of Liverpool
*
Regius Professor of Chemistry (2016)
University of London
*
Regius Professor of Cancer Research (2016)
(Based at The
Institute of Cancer Research
The Institute of Cancer Research (the ICR) is a public research institute and a member institution of the University of London in London, United Kingdom, specialising in oncology. It was founded in 1909 as a research department of the Royal Mar ...
)
*
Regius Professor of Psychiatry (2013) (Based at
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
)
*
Regius Professor of Economics (2013) (Based at
LSE LSE may refer to:
Computing
* LSE (programming language), a computer programming language
* LSE, Latent sector error, a media assessment measure related to the hard disk drive storage technology
* Language-Sensitive Editor, a text editor used ...
)
*
Regius Professor of Music
The Regius Professorship of Music was established at Royal Holloway, University of London, in 2013 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the ...
(2013) (Based at
Royal Holloway
Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...
)
University of Manchester
*
Regius Professor of Physics (2013)
*
Regius Professor of Materials (2016)
Newcastle University
*
Regius Professor of Ageing (2016)
Open University
*
Regius Professor of Open Education (2013)
University of Oxford
*
Regius Professor of Civil Law (c.1540)
*
Regius Professor of Divinity (1535)
*
Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology
The Regius Professorship of Moral and Pastoral Theology, together with the Regius Professorship of Ecclesiastical History, was founded at the University of Oxford by act of Parliament in 1840, and first filled in 1842. The act attached the chair to ...
(1842)
*
Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History
The Regius Chair of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Oxford was founded by Queen Victoria in 1842. Previous Holders of the chair include John McManners, Peter Hinchliff and Henry Mayr-Harting.
The current Regius Professor of Ecclesias ...
(1842)
*
Regius Professor of Hebrew (1546)
*
Regius Professor of Medicine (1546)
*
Regius Professor of Greek (c.1541)
*
Regius Professor of Modern History (1724)
*
Regius Professor of Mathematics
The Regius Professorship of Mathematics is the name given to three chair (academic), chairs in mathematics at British universities, one at the University of St Andrews, founded by Charles II of England, Charles II in 1668, the second one at the Uni ...
(2016)
Queen's University Belfast
*
Regius Professor of Electronics & Computer Engineering (2016)
University of Reading
*
Regius Professor of Meteorology and Climate Science (2013)
University of St Andrews
*
Regius Professor of Mathematics
The Regius Professorship of Mathematics is the name given to three chair (academic), chairs in mathematics at British universities, one at the University of St Andrews, founded by Charles II of England, Charles II in 1668, the second one at the Uni ...
(1668)
University of Southampton
*
Regius Professor of Computer Science Regius may refer to:
* Regius Professor, "Royal" Professorships at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dublin
* Raphael Regius (c.1440–1520), Venetian humanist
* Henricus Regius (1598–1679), Dutc ...
(2013)
*
Regius Professorship in Ocean Sciences (2016)
University of Surrey
*
Regius Professor of Electronic Engineering (2013)
University of Warwick
*
Regius Professor of Mathematics
The Regius Professorship of Mathematics is the name given to three chair (academic), chairs in mathematics at British universities, one at the University of St Andrews, founded by Charles II of England, Charles II in 1668, the second one at the Uni ...
(2013)
*
Regius Professor of Manufacturing (2016)
References
{{reflist, 30em
1497 establishments in England
1497 establishments in Scotland
1497 establishments in Ireland