Whig history is an approach to historiography that presents history as a journey from an oppressive and benighted past to a "glorious present". The present described is generally one with modern forms of liberal democracy and constitutional monarchy:it was originally a satirical term for the patriotic grand narratives praising Britain's adoption of constitutional monarchy and the historical development of the Westminster system. The term has also been applied widely in historical disciplines outside of British history to describe "any subjection of history to what is essentially a teleological view of the historical process". When the term is used in contexts other than British history,"whig history" (lowercase) is preferred.
Élie Halévy was a French philosopher and historian who wrote studies of the British utilitarians,the book of essays Era of Tyrannies,and a history of Britain from 1815 to 1914 that influenced British historiography.
Sir Charles Kingsley Webster was a British diplomat and historian. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School,Crosby and King's College,Cambridge. After leaving Cambridge University,he went on to become a professor at Harvard,Oxford,and the London School of Economics (LSE). He also served as President of the British Academy from 1950 to 1954.
Sir John Arthur Ransome Marriott was a British educationist,historian,and Conservative member of parliament (MP).
Max Beloff,Baron Beloff,was a British historian and Conservative peer. From 1974 to 1979 he was principal of the University College of Buckingham,now the University of Buckingham.
John Stephen Morrill is a British historian and academic who specialises in the political,religious,social,and cultural history of early-modern Britain from 1500 to 1750,especially the English Civil War. He is best known for his scholarship on early modern politics and his unique county studies approach which he developed at Cambridge. Morrill was educated at Trinity College,Oxford,and became a fellow of Selwyn College,Cambridge,in 1975.
Norman Gash was a British historian,best remembered for a two-volume biography of British prime minister Sir Robert Peel. He was professor of modern history at the University of St Andrews from 1955 to 1980 and specialised in the 19th century.
Donald Elmslie Robertson Watt FRSE was a Scottish historian and Professor Emeritus at St Andrews University.
Sarah Rosamund Irvine Foot is an English Anglican priest and early medieval historian,previously serving as Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Oxford. On 8 July 2023,she became the first woman to serve as Dean of Christ Church,Oxford.
Professor Emeritus Ivor G. Wilks was a noted British Africanist and historian,specializing in Ghana. Considered one of the founders of modern African historiography,he was an authority on the Ashanti Empire in Ghana and the Welsh working-class movement in the 19th century. At the time of his death,he was Professor Emeritus of History at Northwestern University in Illinois,USA.
Martin Kitchen is a British-Canadian historian,who has specialized in modern European history,with an emphasis on Germany. He is internationally regarded as a key author for the study of contemporary history.
Charles Loch Mowat was a British-born American historian.
Leonard Monteath Thompson was Charles J. StilléProfessor of History Emeritus at Yale and director of the former Yale Southern African Research Program. He is well known for his work on the formation of the Union of South Africa and the two-volume The Oxford History of South Africa,a collaboration with N.M. Wilson.,and has written and edited many books,including The Political Mythology of Apartheid,The Frontier in History,A History of South Africa,and South African Politics,all published by Yale University Press.
Andrew John Boyd Hilton,FBA is a British historian and a professor and fellow of Trinity College,Cambridge. He specialises in modern British history,from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century.
The historiography of the United Kingdom includes the historical and archival research and writing on the history of the United Kingdom,Great Britain,England,Scotland,Ireland,and Wales. For studies of the overseas empire see historiography of the British Empire.
Ross Ian McKibbin,FBA is an Australian academic historian whose career,spent almost entirely at the University of Oxford,has been devoted to studying the social,political and cultural history of modern Britain,especially focusing on Labour politics and class cultures.
Keith Edwin Wrightson,is a British historian who specialises in early modern England.
Sidney Jellicoe was a British-Canadian dean emeritus,biblical scholar,Harrold professor of Divinity,theological educator,and priest.
