Origins & Early Life

Samuel Rawson Gardiner (4 March 1829 – 24 February 1902) was an English historian who specialized in 17th-century English history as a prominent foundational historian of the early Stuart Monarchy, the Puritan revolution and the English Civil War, and the subsequent Commonwealth and Protectorate. The son of Rawson Boddam Gardiner, he was born in Ropley, Hampshire. He was educated at Winchester College and Christ Church, Oxford, where he obtained a first class in Literae Humaniores. He was subsequently elected to fellowships at All Souls (1884) and Merton (1892).

Pivotal Works & Achievements

For some years he was professor of modern history at King's College London, and devoted his life to the subject. In 1896 he was elected to give the first series of Ford Lectures at Oxford University. He died in Sevenoaks, aged 72. Gardiner published his history of the Puritan Revolution and English Civil War in three series of 19 volumes, originally published under different titles, beginning with the accession of King James I of England. Following Gardiner's death, it was completed in two volumes by Charles Harding Firth as The Last Years of the Protectorate (1909).

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The series is History...

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