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Dr Gordon Johnson

Dr Gordon Johnson

MA PhD FRAS FRHistS

Gordon Johnson is an Honorary and Emeritus Fellow. He was President of the College from 1993 to 2010

Dr Gordon Johnson

Gordon was Lecturer in the History of Modern South Asia and Director of the Centre of South Asian Studies. Before retirement in 2010 he chaired a number of Faculty Boards, and served on the General Board, the University Council, and the Syndicate on the Government of the University. He was for thirty years a Syndic of the University Library; joined the Press Syndicate in 1981 and was its chair from 1993-2009. Gordon was the first Provost of the Gates Cambridge Trust and a long-time Trustee of the Cambridge Commonwealth and Overseas Trusts. He was Senior Proctor in 1977-1978 and served as a Deputy Vice-Chancellor from 2002-2010. He was appointed Lady Margaret’s Preacher in 2006 and was the Sandars Reader in Bibliography for 2010.

Gordon came to Cambridge in 1961 from Richmond School in Yorkshire to study history at Trinity College. He graduated in 1964 and took his PhD in Indian history in 1968. He was a Fellow of Trinity for eight years before moving to Selwyn (where he is now an Honorary Fellow) in 1974. He edited Modern Asian Studies for thirty-eight years and was the General Editor of the New Cambridge History of India. His publications include Provincial Politics and Indian Nationalism (CUP, 1973), A Cultural Atlas of India (Time Life Books, 1995) and University Politics: F M Cornford’s Cambridge and his advice to the young academic politician (CUP, 1994 and 2008).

Recognitions & achievements

  • Senior Proctor 1977-1978
  • First Provost of the Gates Cambridge Trust (2000-2010)
  • Deputy Vice Chancellor (2002-2010)
  • Current Vice-President of the Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society (2022-

Gordon is writing about twentieth-century Cambridge with a focus on the University Press. He is researching the Royal Asiatic Society (of which he has been President and is Vice-President) as it celebrates its bicentenary in 2023-2024. He’s a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Liveryman of the Stationers’ Company. Within the local community, he has been a governor of Barton Primary School, Comberton Village College, Gresham’s School, and the Stephen Perse Foundation. He completed a term as chair of the CAM Academy Trust in 2018.

What's on

A triptych of abstract images: a smooth round stone nestled in a curved rock, distorted eyeglass frames scattered on a white background, and a high-contrast black and white microscopic image resembling organic or cellular structures.

Art Exhibition: Âé¶¹ËÞÉáµçÊÓ¾çat 60

21/06/2025 at 10.00

Celebrating Wolfson’s 60th anniversary year, this exhibition highlights the range of artistic disciplines and styles that have made up our exhibitions over the years.

A group of people stands outdoors near a table with books and papers, attentively reading or listening during a gathering.

WolfWords Launch and Poetry Reading

27/06/2025 at 11.00

Please come and join us for the launch of this year's WolfWords poetry anthologywhich brings together poems from the entire Âé¶¹ËÞÉáµçÊÓ¾çcommunity.

Âé¶¹ËÞÉáµçÊÓ¾çChampagne Credit Ian Olsson

Wolfson's 60th Birthday Party

27/06/2025 at 18.30

Come party like it's 1965 as we celebrate Wolfson's 60th birthday!

Graphic for "Cambridge Zero Community Day" on 28 June 2025 from 10:00 to 20:30, with the tagline "Forging a Future for Our Planet" and descriptors "Innovative, Inclusive, Impactful."

Cambridge Zero Community Day

28/06/2025 at 10.00

Âé¶¹ËÞÉáµçÊÓ¾çCollege will showcase its commitment to Sustainability and Conservation and Green Impact by exhibiting a number of projects around the College at the Cambridge Zero Community Day.

A large stone church with a tall spire and ornate Gothic-style windows stands on a grassy hill under a clear blue sky.

Thaxted Festival Mass

29/06/2025 at 11.00

Haydn’s delightful Little Organ Mass will be sung by Âé¶¹ËÞÉáµçÊÓ¾çChamber Singers, accompanied by the historic Lincoln Organ played by Tom Williamson.

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