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Charles Grant Robertson

1869 – 1948

British academic

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About Charles Grant Robertson

Lived 1869 – 1948 (aged 78–79). Charles Grant Robertson was a historian.

Sir Charles Grant Robertson (1869 – 29 February 1948) was a British academic historian. He was a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and Vice-chancellor of the University of Birmingham.

Biography Grant Robertson was born in 1869 and educated at Highgate School and Hertford College, Oxford. He was elected a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford in 1893. At Oxford he became a distinguished and influential historian. He was one-time tutor to Edward, Prince of Wales, and had many academic publications to his name. He also published a light work called "Voces academicae, short scenes of student life in Oxford" in 1898 and produced a series of romantic novels under the pseudonym Wymond Carey between 1902 and 1907.

In 1920 Grant Robertson became Vice-Chancellor of Birmingham University. He is credited with doing much to raise the profile of the young university, with strong support for the new medical school, the library and the Barber Institute and one of his first tasks was to set up a Joint Standing Committee on Research With regard to the library, he declared "A library is not a luxury, nor an ornamental appendage, but an absolute necessity…". The Charles Grant Robertson Scholarship at Birmingham University is awarded for research in the Department of English, and is open only to existing students of the university.

Grant Robertson was Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals of the Universities of the United Kingdom (CVCP), later Universities UK from 1929 to 1935. He was president of the Johnson Society at Lichfield from 1939 to 1944

In spite of his racy early writings, Grant Robertson was a rather aloof and prudish bachelor. He was particularly recalled as wordy, one commentator observing that he "never used a single word to express himself, if a paragraph could more gracefully define his meaning". Staff and students recalled incidents such as when his opening speech at a charity function was so long it dramatically reduced the takings, or when students we invited to tea but never had the chance to eat it.

Publications Academic works England under the Hanoverians (1911). online Bismarck 1918 An historical atlas of modern Europe from 1789 to 1922 with an historical and explanatory text 1924 Religion and The Totalitarian State. The Social Service Lecture 1937 Centenary Of Charter Of Incorporation. A Short History Of Birmingham From Its Origin to the Present Day 1938 with Conrad The British Universities 1944 Chatham and the British Empire 1946 online Evolution of Prussia 1946 with Sir J. A. R. Marriott Bolingbroke 1947 Select Statutes Cases and Documents to Illustrate English Constitutional History, 1660 – 1832 1949

As Wymond Carey Monsieur Martin For the white rose No 101 and Love The Judge

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Important facts

Born
1869
Birth century
Occupation
Education
Hertford College, Highgate School
Positions held
Vice-chancellor of the University of Birmingham
Employers
University of Birmingham
Also known as
Sir Charles Grant Robertson

People in Charles Grant Robertson's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Charles Grant Robertson's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Charles Grant Robertson?

British academic

When was Charles Grant Robertson born?

Charles Grant Robertson was born in 1869.

When did Charles Grant Robertson die?

Charles Grant Robertson died on 29 February 1948.

What was Charles Grant Robertson's occupation?

Charles Grant Robertson was a historian.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Charles Grant Robertson

· Wikidata: Q5078373

· DBpedia: Charles Grant Robertson

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Charles Grant Robertson. https://biography.guide/charles-grant-robertson/

MLA: "Charles Grant Robertson." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/charles-grant-robertson/.

Chicago: "Charles Grant Robertson." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/charles-grant-robertson/.

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