Geoffrey Martin (historian)
| Geoffrey Haward Martin | |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 September 1928 |
| Died | 20 December 2007 (aged 79) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Historian, archivist |
| Known for | Historian, Keeper of Public Records |
| Title | Keeper of Public Records |
| Term | 1982-1988 |
| Spouse(s) | Janet Douglas Hamer (1953 - ) |
Professor Geoffrey Haward Martin CBE (27 September 1928 – 20 December 2007) was a respected British academic, historian and from 1982 until 1988 Keeper of Public Records of the UK.[1]
Early life
Geoffrey Haward Martin was born in Essex, 27 September 1928.[1] He was schooled at Colchester Royal Grammar School,[2] where he published a history of the school in the school magazine, The Colcestrian, before reprinting it as a separate volume with additions and corrections, The History of Colchester Royal Grammar School (1539-1947), published by the Borough of Colchester.[3]
In 1947 he went to Merton College, Oxford, to read history,[4] specialising in Richard II and John of Gaunt. Soon afterwards he published his PhD on the medieval history of Ipswich.[1]
Academic career
Having completed research at the University of Manchester during 1952, Martin joined University College, Leicester as a lecturer in economic history.[4] Whilst at Leicester, he was a Reader in History, 1966–73, a Public Orator, 1971–74, and a Professor of History, 1973-82. He was also for a term (1975–80) head of the university's history department and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, 1979-82.[2] He was a visiting professor at Carleton University, Ottawa, for the years 1958-59[4] and 1967-68.[1]
In 1971 he returned to Merton College, where he had studied for his PhD, as a visiting research Fellow and in 1990 became a senior research Fellow. In 1997 Martin and his former Oxford tutor Dr Roger Highfield published the first official history of the college, A History of Merton.[1][2]
Appointment as Keeper of the Public Records
In May 1982 Martin was appointed Keeper of the Public Records at the Public Record Office (PRO). For the International Council on Archives, he was a member of the executive committee between 1984 and 1988, and also played a leading role in the formation of the Association of Commonwealth Archivists in 1984, serving as its first chairman. In 1985 he led the first official delegation of British archivists to China, and he often represented the PRO overseas.[1]
He also ensured that the 900th anniversary of Domesday Book in 1986 was celebrated with a major public exhibition, held at Chancery Lane in the former Rolls Chapel. It was a great success, linking sound scholarship with the use of the then new technology of ‘talking heads’.[2]
He remains the only career academic who has ever had charge of the national archives, and later felt obliged to criticise the appointment of another head of the archives who he considered to be unsuitable for the job.[2]
Later life, personal life and death
Within the UK he was chairman of the council of the British Records Association from 1982 until 1991. Later he became one of its vice-presidents, and a vice-president of the Royal Historical Society between 1984 and 1988. He was appointed CBE in 1986.[1]
After his retirement Martin was appointed to a research chair at the University of Essex, where he taught on the Second World War.[1] In 2002 he provided the introduction to the Penguin publication of the Domesday Book, the first wholly English language edition of Domesday.
Martin married Janet Hamer, another historian in 1953,[4] and they had four children. Through his wife, Martin had developed an attachment to the Lake District. In 1969 they bought a house there and, when illness eventually reduced his activities during 2003, it was to where he retired. He was also president of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, 1999-2002. He died on 20 December 2007, aged 79.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Professor Geoffrey Martin (Obituary)". London: Times Online. 31 January 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Jones, Michael; Crook, David. "Professor Geoffrey Martin, CBE (1928-2007)". Lincoln Record Society. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
- ↑ Martin, G. H. (1947). The History of Colchester Royal Grammar School (1539-1947). Borough of Colchester Museums Committee.
- 1 2 3 4 Levens, R.G.C., ed. (1964). Merton College Register 1900-1964. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. p. 380.
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