author
Charles Lethbridge Kingsford
1862–1926
An influential English historian of late 15th-century Britain, Charles Lethbridge Kingsford combined careful scholarship with a vivid interest in London’s past. His work ranged from Henry V and the Crusades to John Stow’s Survey of London and the history of Soho and Piccadilly.
1 Audiobook
The early history of Piccadilly, Leicester Square, Soho, & their neighbourhood : based on a plan drawn in 1585
by Charles Lethbridge Kingsford
About the author
Charles Lethbridge Kingsford (25 December 1862–29 November 1926) was an English historian and author. Born in Ludlow, Shropshire, he studied at St John’s College, Oxford, where he earned honors in classics and modern history. In 1889, he joined the editorial staff of the Dictionary of National Biography and later worked in the Education Department.
Kingsford became known especially for his research into late 15th-century English history and London’s topography. His major works included English Historical Literature in the Fifteenth Century, Prejudice and Promise in Fifteenth Century England, an edition of John Stow’s Survey of London, and The Early History of Piccadilly, Leicester-square, Soho, and their Neighbourhood. He also wrote Henry V for the “Heroes of the Nations” series and co-authored a history of the Crusades.
He served as vice-president of the Society of Antiquaries of London, was Ford Lecturer in British History at Oxford, and became a fellow of the British Academy in 1924. Kingsford contributed more than 400 articles to the Dictionary of National Biography and died suddenly at his home in Kensington in 1926.