Arthur Geoffrey Dickens (6 July 1910 – 31 July 2001)
was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

Early life

He was born in

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, on 6 July 1910, and educated at

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 ...

Second World War

He served during

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. From May to October 1945 he served with the military government in

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

, where he had to supervise and edit the local newspaper.

Academic career

In 1949, Dickens was appointed professor of history at 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 ...

, later becoming deputy principal and dean of the Faculty of Arts, 1950–53, and pro-vice-chancellor, 1959–62. He took up the post of professor of history 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 ...

in 1962, where he remained until becoming director of the

Institute of Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate Hou ...

(IHR) and professor of history in 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 degr ...

, 1967–77. Dickens was also active in other bodies, including being president of the Ecclesiastical History Society, 1966–68; a member of the Advisory Council on Public Records, 1968–76; an advisor to the Council on the Export of Works of Art, 1968–76; secretary, chairman and general secretary of the British National Committee of Historical Sciences, 1967–79; foreign secretary of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars s ...

, 1969–79; and vice-president of the

British Record Society The British Record Society is a British learned society that focuses on publishing historic records, or, more specifically, indexes to such records. In recent years, the Society has concentrated on the publication of name indexes to English proba ...

, 1978–80. Dickens enjoyed "a deep love affair with Germany", was a moving force in the establishment of the German Historical Institute in London and was decorated by the German government. He died in London at the age of 91. His book on the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

was, for many years the standard text on the subject, relying as it did on detailed examination of parish records. He was elected a fellow of the

in 1966.

Death and legacy

Papers of Professor Dickens are held by Senate House Library, University of London, and are available to be consulted there.http://archives.ulrls.lon.ac.uk/dispatcher.aspx?action=search&database=ChoiceArchive&search=IN=MS923

Selected publications

* ''Lübeck Diary''. Victor Gollancz Ltd., London 1947 * ''The English Reformation'', Batsford, 1964 * ''Lollards and Protestants in the Diocese of York'', 1959 * ''Thomas Cromwell and the English Reformation'', 1959 * ''Reformation and Society in Sixteenth Century Europe'', 1966 * ''Martin Luther and the Reformation'', 1967 * ''The Counter Reformation'', 1968 * ''The German Nation and Martin Luther'', 1974 * ''The Age of Humanism and Reformation'', 1977

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickens, A. G. English non-fiction writers Reformation historians Fellows of the British Academy Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Academics of King's College London Presidents of the Ecclesiastical History Society 1910 births 2001 deaths Academics of the University of Hull British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery soldiers Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany English male non-fiction writers Anglican scholars 20th-century Anglicans 20th-century English male writers