James Gairdner (22 March 1828 – 4 November 1912) was a British

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 ...

. He specialised in 15th-century and early Tudor history, and among other tasks edited the ''

Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII ''Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII'' (full title: ''Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII: preserved in the Public Record Office, the British Museum, and elsewhere in England''; often abbreviated in citat ...

'' series. Son of

John Gairdner Dr John Gairdner FRCS (18 September 1790 – 12 December 1876) was a Scottish physician. Life He was the eldest son of Captain Robert Gairdner of the Bengal artillery, and brother of William Gairdner, born at Mount Charles, near Ayr, on 18 S ...

, M.D. and brother of Sir William Tennant Gairdner, he was born and educated in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. He entered the

Public Record Office The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was m ...

in London in 1846, remaining at work there until his retirement over fifty years later in 1900. Gairdner's contributions to

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 ide ...

history related chiefly to the reigns of

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

, Henry VII and

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. For the

Rolls Series ''The Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages'' ( la, Rerum Britannicarum medii aevi scriptores), widely known as the is a major collection of British and Irish historical materials and primary sources publish ...

he edited ''Letters and Papers illustrative of the Reigns of Richard III and Henry VII'' (London, 1861–1863), and ''Memorials of Henry VII'' (London, 1858). In association with J. S. Brewer, Gairdner prepared the first four volumes (in nine parts) of the ''Calendar of Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII'', and, after Brewer's death in 1879, Gairdner completed the series, with the assistance of R. H. Brodie, in 1910, in twenty-one volumes (in thirty-three parts), having calendared about a hundred thousand documents, from numerous sources, in several languages. He published an edition of the ''

Paston Letters The ''Paston Letters'' is a collection of correspondence between members of the Paston family of Norfolk gentry and others connected with them in England between the years 1422 and 1509. The collection also includes state papers and other impor ...

'' (London, 1872–1875, and again 1896); and he edited the ''Historical collections of a Citizen of London'' (London, 1876), and ''Three 15th-century Chronicles'' (London, 1880) for the

Camden Society The Camden Society was a text publication society founded in London in 1838 to publish early historical and literary materials, both unpublished manuscripts and new editions of rare printed books. It was named after the 16th-century antiquary an ...

. His other works included biographies of Richard III (London, 1878) and Henry VII (London, 1889, and subsequently); ''The Houses of Lancaster and York'' (London, 1874, and other editions); ''The English Church in the 16th century'' (London, 1902); and ''Lollardy and the Reformation in England'' (1908). He contributed some seventy-seven fifteenth- and sixteenth-century biographies to the ''

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 ...

'', as well as articles for the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

'', 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 ...

'', and the ''

English Historical Review ''The English Historical Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1886 and published by Oxford University Press (formerly Longman). It publishes articles on all aspects of history – British, European, and wo ...

''. Gairdner received the honorary degree of LL.D. from 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 ...

in 1897, and was made a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

in the 1900 Birthday Honours.

Primary sources

* ''Letters and papers, foreign and domestic, of the reign of Henry VIII: preserved in the Public Record Office, the British Museum and elsewhere, Volume 1'' edited by John S. Brewer, Robert H. Brodie, James Gairdner. (1862)
full text online vol 1full text vol 3

References

External links

* * *
Three fifteenth-century chronicles
Cornell University Library Historical Monographs Collection. Reprinted b
Cornell University Library Digital Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gairdner, James 1828 births 1912 deaths Writers from Edinburgh 19th-century Scottish historians British archivists Companions of the Order of the Bath Alumni of the University of Edinburgh