Name Christopher Hibbert Role Writer | Education Oriel College, Oxford | |
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Major works Various major biographies Died December 21, 2008, Henley-on-Thames, United Kingdom Main interests History of the British Isles Books The House of Medici, The Days of the French R, The London Encyclopaedia, Rome - the biography of a city, Queen Victoria: A Personal Similar People John Keay, Conn Iggulden, Queen Victoria | ||
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Christopher Hibbert (born Arthur Raymond Hibbert) MC (5 March 1924 – 21 December 2008), was an English writer, historian and biographer. He has been called "a pearl of biographers" (New Statesman) and "probably the most widely-read popular historian of our time and undoubtedly one of the most prolific" (The Times). Hibbert was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the author of many books, including The Story of England, Disraeli, Edward VII, George IV, The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici, and Cavaliers and Roundheads.
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Biography
In 1924 Arthur Raymond Hibbert was born in Enderby, Leicestershire, the son of Canon H. V. Hibbert (died 1980) and his wife Maude. He was educated at Radley College, before he went up to Oriel College at the University of Oxford. He was awarded the degrees of B.A. and later MA.
He left Oriel College to join the Army, where a sergeant major referred to Hibbert as "Christopher Robin" (of Winnie the Pooh books) based upon his youthful looks. The name "Christopher" subsequently stuck. During World War II, Hibbert served as an infantry officer in the London Irish Rifles regiment in Italy, reaching the rank of captain. He was wounded twice and awarded the Military Cross in 1945. Hibbert became the personal assistant to General Alan Duff.
From 1945 to 1959 he was a partner in a firm of land agents and auctioneers, and began his writing career in 1957. Hibbert was awarded the Heinemann Award for Literature in 1962 for The Destruction of Lord Raglan, and the McColvin Medal of the Library Association in 1989. Christopher Hibbert was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Geographical Society, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Literature by the University of Leicester.
Personal life
Hibbert lived at Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire and was a member of the Army and Navy Club and the Garrick Club. He was married to Susan Piggford and the couple had three children, his daughter and literary executor Kate Hibbert, television writer Jimmy Hibbert and music journalist Tom Hibbert.
He died on 21 December 2008, in Henley, from bronchial pneumonia at the age of 84 and was survived by his wife and their three children. He was cremated after a humanist ceremony in Oxford on 2 January 2009.