James Gairdner
1828-1912. Historian and records scholar. Born in Edinburgh, he worked as a clerk and an editor in the Public Record Office, London (1846-93). From 1856 he first collaborated with J.S. Brewer in the preparation of The Letters and Papers of Henry VIII, then became editor after Brewer's death. He also edited collections of documents for the Rolls Series and the Camden Society and prepared the definitive edition of the Paston Letters. He wrote the volume for the period 1509-59 for Stephens and Hunt's History of the Church of England, closing his career with the four-volume work Lollardy and the Reformation in England. Always strongly Protestant in his outlook, he also sought to be objective in his editing and writing.