Martin S. (Martin Shaw) Briggs

Martin Shaw Briggs (1882–1977) was a British architectural historian and nonfiction writer. He is remembered especially for his work on Baroque architecture and for helping bring that subject to a wider audience at a time when it was not yet widely studied in depth.

Early in his career, he won a prize from the Leeds and Yorkshire Architectural Society for drawings of an entrance hall and staircase. He later became vice-president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, reflecting the respect he earned within the field.

His published work shows both range and curiosity. Titles associated with him include In the Heel of Italy: A Study of an Unknown City (1910), Baroque Architecture (1913), A Short History of the Building Crafts (1925), The Architect in History (1927), The Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers in England and America (1932), Wren, the Incomparable (1953), and Everyman's Concise Encyclopaedia of Architecture (1960).