John Childs (historian)


John Charles Roger Childs FRHS is emeritus professor of military history at the University of Leeds.

Early life

John Childs was born in June 1949. He studied at the University of Hull and at King's College London, from where he received his doctorate on the standing army of the Stuart Restoration.

Career

Childs first worked in the defense industry before becoming Sir James Knott Research Fellow at Newcastle University. From 1976 to 2009 he taught at the University of Leeds, where he was professor of military history and head of the Center for Military History. He subsequently became Emeritus Professor.
His research interests include the history of the British Army from 1660 to 1702, the Stuart Restoration, and European military history of the early modern period. Childs has published numerous monographs and contributions, in particular the Glorious Revolution. He is co-author with André Corvisier of A dictionary of military history and the art of war.
Childs is chairman of the Battlefields Panel of Historic England, chairman of the Royal Armouries Development Trust, and a former trustee of the Royal Armouries.

Selected publications