John Vincent (historian)
Encyclopedia
John Russell Vincent is a British
historian
and a former Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge
. He was Professor of Modern History, and later History, at the University of Bristol
from 1970 until his retirement when he became Visiting Professor at the University of East Anglia. In the 1980s he was a columnist for The Times
and The Sun
newspapers for four years, until violent Socialist Worker
disruption of some of his lectures at his university forced him to take two terms unpaid leave, but he continued his journalism and has also written for many other publications, including book reviews and articles for New Society, The New Statesman, the Listener, The Spectator, The London Review of Books, the Observer, the Sunday Times, and the Guardian.
In 1995 Oxford University Press
refused at the last minute to publish a book on history by Vincent, having commissioned and overseen much of its writing.
In his book on historiography, An Intelligent Person's Guide to History, Vincent notes that if we went solely by the documentary standards most prized by modern historians nothing would be more historically certain than that there were witches in the Middle Ages, given that we have a large volume of solemnly sworn testimony in original documents.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
historian
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 study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and a former Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the oldest college of the University, having been founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely...
. He was Professor of Modern History, and later History, at the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
from 1970 until his retirement when he became Visiting Professor at the University of East Anglia. In the 1980s he was a columnist for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
newspapers for four years, until violent Socialist Worker
Socialist Workers Party (Britain)
The Socialist Workers Party is a far left party in Britain founded by Tony Cliff. The SWP's student section has groups at a number of universities...
disruption of some of his lectures at his university forced him to take two terms unpaid leave, but he continued his journalism and has also written for many other publications, including book reviews and articles for New Society, The New Statesman, the Listener, The Spectator, The London Review of Books, the Observer, the Sunday Times, and the Guardian.
In 1995 Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
refused at the last minute to publish a book on history by Vincent, having commissioned and overseen much of its writing.
In his book on historiography, An Intelligent Person's Guide to History, Vincent notes that if we went solely by the documentary standards most prized by modern historians nothing would be more historically certain than that there were witches in the Middle Ages, given that we have a large volume of solemnly sworn testimony in original documents.
Publications
- John Vincent, The Formation of the Liberal Party, 1857-68 (Constable, 1966; second edition, 1980).
- John Vincent, Pollbooks: How Victorians Voted (Cambridge University Press, 1967).
- John Vincent and A. B. Cooke (eds.), Lord Carlingford's Journal (Oxford University Press, 1971).
- John Vincent and M. Stenton (eds.), McCalmont's Parliamentary Poll Book 1832-1918 (Harvester, 1971).
- Alistair Basil Cooke and John Vincent, Governing Passion: Cabinet Government and Party Politics in Britain, 1885-86 (Harvester, 1974).
- John Vincent (ed.), Disraeli, Derby and the Conservative Party: The Political Journals of Lord Stanley 1849-69 (Harvester, 1978).
- John Vincent, Gladstone and Ireland (Raleigh Lecture) (British Academy, 1979).
- John Vincent (ed.), The Crawford Papers: The Journals of David Lindsay, Twenty-Seventh Earl of Crawford and Tenth Earl of Balcarres during the years 1892 to 1940 (1984).
- John Vincent, 'The Thatcher Governments, 1979-1987' in Peter Hennessy and Anthony Seldon (eds.), Ruling Performance: British Government from Attlee to Thatcher (Blackwell, 1987).
- John Vincent, Disraeli (Oxford Paperbacks, 1990).
- John Vincent, An Intelligent Person's Guide to History (Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd, 1995, 2005).
- John Vincent (ed.), The Derby Diaries 1869-1878 (Cambridge University Press, 1995).
- John Vincent, '1874-1880' in Anthony Seldon (ed.), How Tory Governments Fall (Fontana Press, 1996), pp. 159-187.
- John Vincent (ed.), The Derby Diaries 1878-1893 (Leopard's Head Press, 2003).