Bernard Porter

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

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. 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.