Divinity School's Robert Scribner Dies at Age 56

Robert W. Scribner, professor of Modern European Christianity at the Divinity School, died at home on Jan. 29 following a battle with cancer. He was 56.

Scribner joined the Faculty of Divinity in the fall of

1996. He had taught at Cambridge University since 1981, where he was a Fellow of Clare College and University Lecturer and Reader in the Social History of Early Modern Europe. He also lectured in history at King's College, University of London. He earned his B.A. and M.A.

degrees from the University of Sydney and his Ph.D. from the

University of London.

His teaching and research interests encompassed the German

Reformation, social and economic history, popular religion and

culture, and historical anthropology. He was the author and editor of

many articles and books, including For the Sake of Simple Folk:

Popular Propaganda for the German Reformation (1981), Popular Culture and Popular Movements in Reformation Germany (1987), The Reformation in National Context (1994), and Germany: A New Social and Economic History (1996).

"Bob's innate curiosity, quick wit, genuine enthusiasm, and warm congeniality quickly earned him many friends within our community and across the University," said Dean Ronald F. Thiemann. "He will be greatly missed by us all."

Scribner is survived by his wife, Lois Rutherford Scribner, and their two children, Samuel and Ellen.

A funeral service was held Feb. 4 at the Memorial Church.