John F. Drinkwater


John Frederick Drinkwater is a British historian, classicist, and author. He is Emeritus Professor of Roman Imperial History at the Department of Classics and Archaeology at the University of Nottingham.
Drinkwater specializes in the study of the Late Roman Empire, the Roman West and of Nero. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and a former joint editor of the Derbyshire Archaeological Journal.

Biography

Drinkwater speaks of a lifelong interest in the Romans, beginning with a picture book he received as a young child, and then citing the BBC television series, Dr Who, as another major influence - specifically the four episode serial titled "The Romans" in 1965.
He graduated and became a university teacher with a focus on the Late Roman Empire, and his principle field of research was the Roman West. He is known for his numerous works on Roman Gaul., and for the Third Century Crisis of Rome. In 2007 he shifted his focus, initially to the office of the emperor, but then focusing on Nero and led to the writing of his 2019 book, Nero: Emperor and Court. This work was quoted and referenced in the BBC Radio series, In Our Time, in its treatment of Nero.
He has been joint editor of the Derbyshire Archaeological Journal, and an honorary lecturer of Archaeology at the University of Sheffield. He is now Professor Emeritus of Roman Imperial History at the Department of Classics and Archaeology at the University of Nottingham.
Drinkwater has been elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in May 1990.