Christopher Hibbert

Christopher Hibbert
Born	5 March 1924
Died	21 December 2008
Other names	Arthur Raymond Hibbert
Academic background
Alma mater	Oriel College, Oxford
Academic work
Main interests	British history
Notable works	Various major biographies

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.

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.

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