Bernard John Porter (born 5 February 1941) is a British historian and academic.^[1] He is Emeritus Professor of Modern History at Newcastle University.^[2]

Porter read history at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. After receiving his BA, MA, and PhD from Corpus, he took a position as a research fellow at his old college before moving to the University of Hull to become a senior lecturer in modern history. Since 1992, he has been an Emeritus Professor at Newcastle.^[3] He is perhaps best known for his most recent book, Absent-Minded Imperialists, published in 2004 which sparked a historiographical debate with John Mackenzie on the place of imperialist sentiment within British popular culture.^[4]