Vivian Hunter Galbraith (15 December 1889 – 25 November 1976) was an English historian, fellow 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 spa ...

and Oxford Regius Professor of Modern History.

Early career

Galbraith was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

, son of David Galbraith, a secretary at the steelworks in Hadfield, and Eliza Davidson McIntosh. He moved with his family to London, and was educated at Highgate School from 1902 to 1906. The family then moved to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, where he attended

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

from 1907, and where his lecturers included

Maurice Powicke Sir Frederick Maurice Powicke (1879–1963) was an English medieval historian. He was a fellow of Merton College, Oxford and was a professor at Queen's University, Belfast and the Victoria University of Manchester, and from 1928 until his re ...

Thomas Frederick Tout Thomas Frederick Tout (28 September 1855 – 23 October 1929) was a British historian of the medieval period. He was one of the founders of the Historical Association in 1906. Early life Born in London, he was a pupil of St Olave's Grammar Sch ...

and James Tait. Galbraith would later write the biographical articles on Tout and Tait for the '' Dictionary of National Biography''. Another historian who influenced him was H. W. C. Davis. Galbraith was awarded a first class in modern history by the University in 1910, and won a Brackenbury scholarship to Balliol College, Oxford. At Oxford, he won the Stanhope prize in 1911 with an essay on the chronicles of St Albans, achieved a third class in ''literae humaniores'' in 1913, and a first class in modern history in 1914. Galbraith became the Langton research fellow at Manchester University and began studying the records of

Bury St. Edmunds Abbey The Abbey of Bury St Edmunds was once among the richest Benedictine monasteries in England, until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. It is in the town that grew up around it, Bury St Edmunds in the county of Suffolk, England. It was a ...

. 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 ...

, he enlisted in January 1915. He served as a company commander in the

Queen's Regiment The Queen's Regiment (QUEENS) was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1966 through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the Home Counties Brigade. Then, until 1971 the regiment remained one of the largest regiments in the ar ...

and was awarded the Croix de Guerre avec palme for his courage in Palestine in 1917 and France in 1918. In January 1919 Galbraith resumed the academic life, initially as a temporary lecturer at Manchester, and then continuing with his former research on a renewed Langton research fellowship, while living in London. He joined 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 ...

in January 1921 as an assistant keeper, allowing him daily access to records about English medieval government. At this time he started work on editing an edition of the ''Anonimalle Chronicle'' of

St Mary's Abbey, York The Abbey of St Mary is a ruined Benedictine abbey in York, England and a scheduled monument. History Once one of the most prosperous abbeys in Northern England,Dean, G. 2008. ''Medieval York''. Stroud: History Press. p. 86 its remains li ...

, published in 1927.

Return to Oxford

In 1928 Galbraith succeeded Reginald Poole as lecturer in diplomatic, and was elected a tutorial fellow of Balliol. Between pursuing his teaching, lecturing, discussion, and golfing he continued working on chronicles and charters, including the ''St Albans Chronicle, 1406–20'', published in 1937. Before the end of the year he took up the professorship of history at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...

. In 1940, he was elected

Ford's lecturer The Ford Lectures, technically the James Ford Lectures in British History, are an annual series of public lectures held at the University of Oxford on the subject of English or British history. They are usually devoted to a particular historical ...

. In 1944 Galbraith succeeded Albert Frederick Pollard as 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 ...

. That same year, in his lecture entitled "Good Kings and Bad Kings in Medieval History", he challenged the overall reliance of historians on the chroniclers whose works were often emotional judgments than constructive criticisms of contemporary figures, concluding that

William Rufus William II ( xno, Williame; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third so ...

and King John were more misrepresented than any other monarch due to conflict with the clerical hierarchy. In January 1948 Galbraith succeeded Sir

as Regius Professor of Modern History. He was elected an

honorary fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

of Balliol in 1957, and of Oriel in 1958. Galbraith intensely disliked

Hugh Trevor-Roper Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton (15 January 1914 – 26 January 2003) was an English historian. He was Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford. Trevor-Roper was a polemicist and essayist on a range of ...

and in 1951 threatened to resign if Trevor-Roper was appointed to the Chair of Modern History. There was an intense animosity between the two historians, Trevor-Roper accusing Galbraith of contributing to a provincial and backward-looking culture in the study of history at Oxford. Galbraith blocked Trevor-Roper's application to give the

Ford Lectures The Ford Lectures, technically the James Ford Lectures in British History, are an annual series of public lectures held at the University of Oxford on the subject of English or British history. They are usually devoted to a particular historical ...

in 1956. Galbraith's works include a reappraisal of the purpose of ''

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

'', a series of critically edited texts and translations of medieval sources, his work between 1942 and 1974 resulting in ''Domesday Book: Its Place in Administrative History'', published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

on 23 January 1975. His 1957 essay on the structure of

Henry Knighton Henry Knighton (or Knyghton) (died c. 1396, in England) was an Augustinian canon at the abbey of St Mary of the Meadows, Leicester, England, and an ecclesiastical historian (chronicler). He wrote a history of England from the Norman conquest ...

's Chronicle successfully proved that Knighton most likely wrote its final two volumes, rather than the Continuator of Knighton who had previously been suggested. Galbraith retired as Regius Professor of Modern History in 1957. Galbraith's retirement precipitated a celebrated contest for election to the Regius Professorship which resulted in the election of

, despite popular support for

A. J. P. Taylor Alan John Percivale Taylor (25 March 1906 – 7 September 1990) was a British historian who specialised in 19th- and 20th-century European diplomacy. Both a journalist and a broadcaster, he became well known to millions through his televis ...

and Galbraith's wish to see R. W. Southern appointed. Galbraith died on 25 November 1976 at his home at 20A Bradmore Road, Oxford.

Personal life

Galbraith married Georgina Rosalie Cole-Baker, daughter of Lyster Cole-Baker MD, at All Saints' Church Catherington on 1 July 1921. She was a medieval historian whom he had met at Manchester; her study of ''The Constitution of the Dominican Order 1216–1360'', including an edition of

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

Additional MS. 23935, was published by Manchester University Press in 1925. The couple had three children, Jane (1922–2012), Jim (1925–2009) and Georgina Mary (b. 1930). Jane was a researcher into African artefacts and the Arts and Crafts movement, as well as an energetic social campaigner. In 1946, she married Kenneth Michael Barbour, Professor of Geography at the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 19 ...

and the

University of Ulster at Coleraine , image = , caption = ''The Coleraine Campus in 2007'' , motto = No motto , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , established = 1968 – Coleraine Campus ...

, and guest professor at the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a collegiate research university based in Nairobi. It is the largest university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dates back to 1956, it did not become an independent univer ...

: they had four daughters and one son. Jim became Under-Secretary in the Industrial Relations Division of the Ministry of Labour and was awarded the CB in 1990. He married, in 1954, Isobel Gibson Graham, a teacher who was later prominent on the board of the

Girls' Day School Trust The Girls' Day School Trust (GDST) is a group of 25 independent schools, including two academies, in England and Wales, catering for girls aged 3 to 18. It is the largest group of independent schools in the UK, and educates 20,000 girls each ye ...

: they had two sons.

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

joined the Diplomatic Service in 1951 and became First Secretary to the UK Permanent Delegation to the United Nations in 1961, resigning on her marriage to Antony Ross Moore in 1963. She was principal of St Hilda's College, Oxford, from 1980 to 1990.

Honours

In 1939, Galbraith was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA). In 1957, he was awarded a

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

: it was titled ''Facsimiles of English Royal Writs to A.D. 1100'', and edited by T. A. M. Bishop and

Pierre Chaplais Pierre Théophile Victorien Marie Chaplais (8 July 1920 – 26 November 2006) was a French historian. He was Reader in Diplomatic at the University of Oxford from 1957 to 1987. Born in Châteaubriant, Loire-Inférieure (now Loire-Atlantique), ...

Works

* '' Anonimalle Chronicle of St Mary's, York'' (ed.) (1927) * ''An Introduction to the Use of the Public Records'' (Oxford University Press, 1934; 2nd ed. 1935) * ''St Albans Chronicle, 1406–20'' (ed.) (1937) * ''Studies in the Public Records'' (Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson, 1949). The Ford Lectures for 1941. * ''The Making of Domesday Book'' (Oxford University Press, 1961) * ''Draft of the Magna Carta, 1215'' (British Academy Proceedings, December 1968)
''Domesday Book: Its Place in Administrative History''
(Oxford University Press, 23 January 1975)

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Galbraith, Vivian Hunter 1889 births 1976 deaths People educated at Highgate School Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Queen's Royal Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War I English archivists English palaeographers Fellows of Balliol College, Oxford Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy People associated with The National Archives (United Kingdom) 20th-century English writers 20th-century British historians Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Regius Professors of History (University of Oxford)