David Starkey

What strikes me about David Starkey is the rare combination of deep scholarship and unapologetic public voice. A Quaker's only child from Kendal who won a Cambridge scholarship and built his name on Tudor history, he never softened his opinions for the camera, and that earned him both honours and controversy. I tend to admire historians willing to stake a clear position rather than hide behind hedged neutrality. Whatever one makes of his politics, he dragged serious history into living rooms and made people argue about Henry VIII again. For me, that ability to make the past feel urgent is a genuine and underrated gift.

Name (English)

David Starkey

Name (Japanese)

デヴィッド・スターキー

Reading

でゔぃっど・すたーきー

Born

January 3, 1945 (age 81)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Capricorn / Rooster

Origin

Kendal, United Kingdom

Occupation

historian / radio personality / writer / television presenter / university teacher

University

Fitzwilliam College

Awards & achievements

• Commander of the Order of the British Empire
• Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries
• Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
• Medlicott Medal
• 2013 honorary doctor of the École normale supérieure de Cachan

• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David%20Starkey
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1176720

Tags

• historian
• radio personality
• writer

Last updated

2026-06-20

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.