FIRTH

firth, charles harding (1857- ), british historian, was born at sheffield on the 16th of march 1857, and was educated at clifton college and at balliol college, oxford. at his university he took the stanhope prize for an essay on the marquess wellesley in 1877, became lecturer at pembroke college in 1887, and fellow of all souls college in 1901. he was ford's lecturer in english history in 1900, and became regius professor of modern history at oxford in succession to f. york powell in 1904. firth's historical work was almost entirely confined to english history during the time of the great civil war and the commonwealth; and although he is somewhat overshadowed by s.r. gardiner, a worker in the same field, his books are of great value to students of this period. the chief of them are: _life of the duke of newcastle_ (1886); _scotland and the commonwealth_ (1895); _scotland and the protectorate_ (1899); _narrative of general venables_ (1900); _oliver cromwell_ (1900); _cromwell's army_ (1902); and the standard edition of _ludlow's memoirs_ (1894). he also edited the _clarke papers_ (1891-1901), and mrs hutchinson's _memoirs of colonel hutchinson_ (1885), and wrote an introduction to the _stuart tracts_ (1903), besides contributions to the _dictionary of national biography_. in 1909 he published _the last years of the protectorate_.