Frank Stenton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1880-05-17)17 May 1880 Manchester, England |
| Died | 15 September 1967(1967-09-15) (aged 87) |
| Nationality | English |
| Education | Keble College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Spouse | Doris Mary Stenton |
Sir Frank Merry StentonFBA (17 May 1880 – 15 September 1967) was an English historian ofAnglo-Saxon England, a professor of history at the University of Reading (1926–1946), president of theRoyal Historical Society (1937–1945),[1] Reading University's vice-chancellor (1946–1950).
The son ofHenry Stenton ofSouthwell, Nottinghamshire,[2] he was educated atKeble College, Oxford, and was elected anHonorary Fellow in 1947.[3]
WithAllen Mawer, Stenton wrote the secondEnglish Place-Name Society volume,The Place-Names of Buckinghamshire, published in 1925. He delivered theFord Lectures atOxford University in 1929. He went on to writeAnglo-Saxon England, a volume of theOxford History of England, first published in 1943 and described bySimon Keynes as "magisterial and massively authoritative".[4] In the view ofNicholas Higham writing in 1992 it "remains the most complete study of Anglo-Saxon history that has ever appeared. He was himself a historian of the first rank, an eminent place-name scholar and in addition well versed in archaeological literature."[5]
Stenton was a professor of history at theUniversity of Reading (1926 – 1946), and subsequently the university's vice-chancellor (1946–1950). During his period as vice-chancellor at Reading, he presided over the university's purchase ofWhiteknights Park, creating the new campus that allowed for the expansion of the university in later decades. In November 2008, it was announced that a new hall of residence to be constructed on that campus would be named Stenton Hall, in his honour.[6] The annual Stenton Lecture, given by an eminent historian, was inaugurated at Reading University in 1967.[7]
He wasknighted in the1948 New Year Honours,[8] and received theaccolade fromKing George VI at Buckingham Palace on 10 February 1948.[9]
His wife,Doris Mary Stenton, wrote a preface to the third edition ofAnglo-Saxon England, published after his death, and editedPreparatory to Anglo-Saxon England: Being the Collected Papers of Frank Merry Stenton, published in 1970. She was a historian in her own right, producingEnglish Society in the Early Middle Ages for thePelican History of England, andThe English Woman in History (1957).[7]
Stenton's papers, together with those of his wife Doris, Lady Stenton, their library and his coin collection are part of the Special Collections in theUniversity of Reading.
Stenton's major publications wereThe First Century of English Feudalism, 1066–1166 (1932) andAnglo-Saxon England (1943). Other publications include:
| Academic offices | ||
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| Preceded by | President of the Royal Historical Society 1937–1945 | Succeeded by |
