Gardiner, Samuel Rawson

Gardiner, Samuel Rawson

(born March 4, 1829, Ropley, near Alresford, Hampshire, Eng.—died Feb. 23, 1902, Sevenoaks, Kent) English historian whose career was dedicated to the study of the English Civil Wars. He taught at King's College, London, and was a fellow at Oxford. His researches among manuscript collections gave unrivaled authority to his monumental undertaking. Its principal volumes were History of England from the Accession of James I to the Outbreak of the Civil War, 1603–1642 (1883–84); History of the Great Civil War, 1642–1649 (1886, 1893); and History of the Commonwealth and Protectorate, 1649–1660 (1903).

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Gardiner, Samuel Rawson 

Born Mar. 4, 1829, in Ropley, Hampshire; died Feb. 23, 1902, in Sevenoaks, Kent. English historian, author of works on 17th-century English history.

A follower of L. Ranke, Gardiner created the concept of the 17th-century English revolution as a “Puritan revolution.” Negating the class character of the Civil War in England, he reduced it to a struggle of religious groupings. Gardiner’s concept, filled with hostility toward the democratic currents in the revolution, corresponded to the interests of the English bourgeoisie of the late 19th century.

WORKS

History of England From the Accession of James I to the Outbreak of the Civil War, 1603-1642, vols. 1-10. London, 1883-84.
History of the Great Civil War (1642-1649), vols. 1-4. London, 1886-91.
History of the Commonwealth and Protectorate, 1649-1656, vols. London, 1903.
In Russian translation:
Puritane i Stiuarty, 1606-1660. St. Petersburg, 1896.

M. A. BARG