James Gairdner

Who was James Gairdner?

James Gairdner was a British historian. He specialised in 15th-century and early Tudor history, and among other tasks edited the Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII series.

Son of John Gairdner, M.D. and brother of Sir William Tennant Gairdner, he was born and educated in Edinburgh. He entered the Public Record Office in London in 1846, becoming assistant keeper of the public records. Gairdner's contributions to English history related chiefly to the reigns of Richard III, Henry VII and Henry VIII. For the Rolls Series he edited Letters and Papers illustrative of the Reigns of Richard III and Henry VII, and Memorials of Henry VII. He succeeded J. S. Brewer in editing the Letters and Papers, foreign and domestic, of the reign of Henry VIII.

He brought out the then best edition of the Paston Letters; for the Camden Society he edited the Historical collections of a Citizen of London, and Three 15th-century Chronicles.