Vivian Hubert Howard Green

Who was Vivian Hubert Howard Green?

Vivian Hubert Howard Green was a Fellow and Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford, a priest, author, teacher, and historian. He was also celebrated for his influence on his student John le Carré when in 1995 le Carré said that Green was the model for his spymaster character George Smiley.

Green was born in Wembley, Middlesex, England; his parents, Hubert and Edith Green, owned confectionery shops, first in Wembley, and then on the Isle of Wight. Strongly encouraged by his mother, Green attended Bradfield College, Berkshire, then won a scholarship to Trinity Hall, Cambridge. At Trinity Hall, he specialised in ecclesiastical history and became the Lightfoot Scholar. Postgraduate work was done on a Gladstone Scholarship to St Deiniol's Library, Hawarden followed by a period of lecturing on ecclesiastical history at St Augustine's College, Canterbury.

Green died in Oxfordshire. He is buried in the churchyard of St Oswalds Church, Widford, Oxfordshire.