C. H. (Charles Harding) Firth

Born in Sheffield in 1857, Charles Harding Firth studied at Oxford and went on to become one of Britain’s best-known historians. He taught and wrote during a period when modern historical scholarship was taking shape, and he became especially admired for his command of seventeenth-century English history.

Firth is closely associated with the study of the English Civil War, Cromwell, and the Commonwealth. He later served as Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford and was also one of the founders of the Historical Association, helping bring serious history to a wider reading public.

What made his work last was his careful use of original documents and his gift for turning political conflict into vivid human history. For listeners interested in England’s turbulent seventeenth century, he remains a thoughtful and trustworthy guide.