Sir James Holt

FBA FRHistS
Born
James Clarke Holt

(1922-04-26)26 April 1922
North Bierley, England[1]
Died9 April 2014(2014-04-09) (aged 91)[2][3]
Other names
  • J. C. Holt
  • Jim Holt
TitleMaster of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge (1981–1988)
Spouse
Alice Suley
​
(m. 1951)​
Academic background
Alma mater
ThesisThe "Northern" Barons Under John (1952)
Academic advisors
Academic work
DisciplineHistory
Sub-disciplineMedieval history
Institutions
Main interestsMagna Carta
Notable worksMagna Carta (1965)

Sir James Clarke Holt FBA FRHistS (26 April 1922 – 9 April 2014), also known as J. C. Holt and Jim Holt, was an English medieval historian, known particularly for his work on Magna Carta. He was the third Master of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, serving between 1981 and 1988.[4]

Career

Educated at Bradford Grammar School, Holt's studies at The Queen's College, Oxford, were interrupted by war service with the British Army, including 14 months in north-west Europe in 1944–1945. Returning to The Queen's College in 1945, he graduated with first-class honours in history in 1947, and subsequently took his DPhil with a thesis titled The "Northern" Barons Under John in 1952, at Merton College, Oxford.[5]

He held the positions of Lecturer (1949–1962)[5] and then Professor of Medieval History (1962–65) at the University of Nottingham,[5] Professor of History at the University of Reading (1965–1978) and Professor of Medieval History at the University of Cambridge from 1978 until his retirement in 1988. From 1981 until 1988 he served as the Master of Fitzwilliam College.[4]

He was on the governing body of Abingdon School from 1969 to 1979.[6]

Honours

Holt became a Fellow of the British Academy in 1978 and was its Vice President from 1987 to 1989,[4] was president of the Royal Historical Society (1981–1985),[7] and was knighted for his work as an historian.

Publications

Holt made his name with the book Magna Carta, which came out in its original edition in 1965. In this work he treated the charter in the context of the political framework of its time. The book has since been fully revised, and is still considered authoritative within its field.

He also published other works on the same period, such as The Northerners: A Study in the Reign of King John, and Robin Hood.

Selected works

Personal life

Holt married Alice Suley in 1951; they had one son. Holt was "passionate about cricket".[8]

Death

He died on 9 April 2014, aged 91.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  2. ^ "Sir James Holt - obituary". The Telegraph. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  3. ^ "Obituaries". University of Oxford Gazette. 144 (5057): 439. 24 April 2014.
  4. ^ a b c British Academy Fellowship entry Archived 13 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b c d Levens, R.G.C., ed. (1964). Merton College Register 1900-1964. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. p. 372.
  6. ^ "Governors" (PDF). The Abingdonian.
  7. ^ "A List of Presidents" (PDF). Royal Historical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  8. ^ Rosamond McKitterick and Christine Carpenter (August 2014). "Jim Holt [Obituary tribute]". The Seeley History Faculty News Letter. nbr 5/2014: 10.
  9. ^ Professor Sir James Holt dies Archived 13 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine Fitzwilliam College News accessed 11 April 2014

External links

Academic offices Preceded byWalter Ullmann Professor of Medieval Historyat the University of Cambridge 1978–1988 Succeeded byBarrie Dobson Preceded byEdward Miller Master of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge 1981–1988 Succeeded byGordon Cameron Professional and academic associations Preceded byJohn Habakkuk President of the Royal Historical Society 1981–1985 Succeeded byGerald Aylmer
Professors of Medieval History at the University of Cambridge
Censors and Masters of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Presidents of the Royal Historical Society
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