Jones, Whitney R. D. 1924-
JONES, Whitney R. D. 1924-
PERSONAL: Born May 14, 1924, in Caerphilly, Wales; son of Horace W. (a retail fruit and vegetable merchant) and Emma E. (a shop manager; maiden name, Jones) Jones; married Mona P. Davies (a teacher), April 4, 1955. Education: University of Wales—Cardiff, B.A. (with honors), 1944, M.A., 1963, Ph.D., 1982; University of London, B.Sc. (economics; with honors), 1953. Politics: Liberal. Religion: Christian.
ADDRESSES: Home—Brodawel, Underwood Ave., Maesycwmmer, Glamorgan CF82 7PT, Wales.
CAREER: Senior history and economics teacher at a grammar school in Glamorgan, Wales, 1945-64; Caerleon College of Education, senior lecturer in history, 1964-72; Schools Council, research officer, 1973-75; Gwent College of Higher Education (now University of Wales—Newport), Newport, Wales, director of historical studies and faculty board secretary, 1976-81; writer. Member of local community council for eleven years, council chair, 1989-90; also candidate for Parliament.
MEMBER: Historical Association, Glamorgan History Society.
AWARDS, HONORS: British Academy grant, 1984-85.
WRITINGS:
The Tudor Commonwealth, 1529-1559, Athlone Press (London, England), 1970.
Nazi Germany, Macmillan (London, England), 1970.
The Mid-Tudor Crisis, 1539-1563, Macmillan (London, England), 1973.
David Williams: The Anvil and the Hammer, University of Alabama Press (Tuscaloosa, AL), 1986.
William Turner: Tudor Naturalist, Physician, and Divine, Routledge (New York, NY), 1988.
Maesycwmmer: The Hidden Landscape, 1826-1939, Maesycwmmer Community Council (Maesycwmmer, Wales), 1989.
(With A. G. Dickens) Erasmus the Reformer, Methuen (London, England), 1984.
The Tree of Commonwealth, 1450-1793, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press (Madison, NJ), 2000.
Contributor to books, including History in the Field, edited by Tom Corfe, Blond Educational (London, England), 1970. Contributor to periodicals.
WORK IN PROGRESS: Thomas Rainborowe.
SIDELIGHTS: Whitney R. D. Jones told CA: "An ongoing commitment to historical research dates from my undergraduate days, work on the mid-Tudor decades which led to a master's degree and my first book in 1970. By this time a move from grammar-school teaching to lecturing permitted more time for research—a development completed by early retirement in 1981. An interest in politics, philosophy, and economics (reflected by my B.Sc. degree in economics in 1953), together with a deepening study of religious history, led to a progressive widening both in the topics and in the time-span of my research and publications.
"An enduring interest in local history resulted in several articles and contributions to symposia, as well as a history of the village in which we have now lived for nearly fifty years. In particular, my secondment as research officer to the Schools Council was devoted to a study of the content and syllabus in the teaching of Welsh and local history.
"Administrative experience includes several years as clerk to the board of the faculty of education in Newport and two years as clerk (unpaid!) to my local community council. An interest in local politics is reflected in eleven years' service as community councillor, including one year as chairman. In 1983 a revival of youthful involvement in national politics led to Parliamentary candidacy, polling over 10,000 votes, on behalf of the Liberal/Social Democrat alliance in Newport West. An active involvement in sport (particularly rugby football and basketball) has now long given way to spectator interest!"
BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:
periodicals
American Historical Review, June, 1988, J. A. W. Gunn, review of David Williams: The Anvil and the Hammer, p. 696; December, 1990, Margo Todd, review of William Turner: Tudor Naturalist, Physician, and Divine, p. 1531; December, 2001, David M. Head, review of The Tree of Commonwealth, 1450-1793, p. 1871.
English Historical Review, January, 1990, Ian R. Christie, review of David Williams, p. 214; April, 2001, G. E. Aylmer, review of The Tree of Commonwealth, 1450-1793, p. 477; April, 2002, S. J. Gunn, review of Erasmus the Reformer, p. 464.
Historian, August, 1990, Harold J. Cook, review of William Turner, p. 637.