Charles Oman

Sir Charles William Chadwick Oman (January 1860 – June 1946) was a notable British military historian of the early 20th century.

He was born in India, the son of a British planter, and was educated at Oxford University, where he studied under William Stubbs.

He was elected to the Chichele chair of modern history at Oxford in 1905. He was also elected FBA that year, serving as President of the Royal Historical and Numismatic societies, and of the Royal Archaeological Institute.

His academic career was interruputed by the First World War, and he put his military knowledge to use during the conflict by working for the government Press Bureau and Foreign Office.

Oman was a Conservative member of Parliament for the University of Oxford from 1919 to 1935, and was knighted in 1920.

He became an honorary fellow of New College in 1936 and received the honorary degrees of DCL (Oxford, 1926) and LL.D (Edinburgh, 1911 and Cambridge, 1927). He died at Oxford.

Works

• The History of Greece (1888)
• The History of the Art of War in the Middle Ages (1898, rev. ed. 1953)
• The Peninsular War (7 vol., 1902–30)
• The Great Revolt of 1381 (Oxford, 1906, ed. 1969)
• A History of England before the Norman Conquest (1910, 8th ed. 1937)
• A History of the Art of War in the Sixteenth Century (1937)