The Romanes Lecture is an annual public lecture held by the University of Oxford. In it, a distinguished figure is incited to talk. The first was given in 1892, and famous speakers have included Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt, Tony Blair, Sir Isaiah Berlin, AJP Taylor, and Sir Paul Nurse, among many others.
Since its establishment, the Romanes Lecture has become a significant academic tradition at Oxford, drawing audiences eager to hear from some of the most influential thinkers and leaders of their time. The lectures often cover a wide array of topics, reflecting the diverse expertise of the invited speakers, and contribute to the university’s mission of fostering knowledge and innovation.
The legacy of the Romanes Lecture continues to thrive, with each annual event reinforcing the University of Oxford’s reputation as a center for intellectual excellence and public engagement.
What is Oxford University's Romanes Lecture?
The Romanes Lecture is held by the University of Oxford annually. This public lecture features prominent speakers from various fields such as arts, literature, and science. This public lecture series aims to enrich academic and public discourse by presenting insightful talks from distinguished figures.
The inception of the Romanes Lecture series dates back to 1892, when William Ewart Gladstone, a notable British statesman and Liberal politician, delivered the first lecture. This event was initiated by George John Romanes, a celebrated biologist and fellow of Christ Church, who envisioned the lecture series as a platform for intellectual engagement and scholarly discussion.
Past Oxford Romanes Lectures + Videos
Over the years, the Romanes Lecture has featured a wide array of influential speakers, beginning with William Ewart Gladstone, the British statesman, who delivered the inaugural lecture. Subsequent speakers have included prominent personalities such as Thomas Huxley, Winston Churchill, and Theodore Roosevelt, covering diverse subjects from evolutionary ethics to the impact of personality in politics.
Each year, there is a different lecture. There are some examples and how to watch them online:
- 2023: Will Digital Intelligence Replace Biological Intelligence? Delivered by Professor Geoffrey Hinton, CC, FRS, FRSC (video)
- 2022: The centre will hold. Liberal democracy and the populist threat. Delivered by Taoiseach Micheál Martin T.D., Prime Minister of Ireland (video)
- 2021: From wartime to peacetime: Lessons from the vaccine taskforce. Delivered by Dame Catherine Elizabeth Bingham, DBE (known as Kate Bingham) (video)
- 2020: Law in a time of crisis. Delivered by Baroness Hale of Richmond (video)
- 2019: The Profession of Intelligence. Delivered by Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller.
- 2018: The Pacification of Cyberspace. Delivered by Dr Vint Cerf.
Source: University of Oxford News & Events
1892 – WE Gladstone: An Academic Sketch
1893 – TH Huxley: Evolution and Ethics
1894 – August Weismann: The Effects of External Influences upon Development
1895 – Holman Hunt: The Obligations of the Universities of England towards Art
1896 – Bishop Mandell Creighton: English National Character
1897 – John Morley: Machiavelli
1898 – Sir Archibald Geikie: Types of Scenery and their Influence upon Literature
1899 – RC Jebb: Humanism in Education
1900 – JAH Murray: The Evolution of English Lexicography
1901 – Lord Acton: [Lecture not delivered]
1902 – James Bryce: The Relations of the Advanced and the Backward Races of Mankind
1903 – Sir Oliver Lodge: Modern Views on Matter
1904 – Sir Courtenay Ilbert: Montesquieu
1905 – Sir Ray Lankester: Nature and Man
1906 – WP Ker: Sturla, the Historian
1907 – Lord Curzon: Frontiers
1908 – Henry Scott Holland: The Optimism of Butler’s Analogy
1909 – AJ Balfour: Criticism and Beauty
1910 – Theodore Roosevelt: Biological Analogies in History
1911 – JB Bury: Romance of Chivalry on Greek Soil
1912 – HM Butler: Lord Chatham as an Orator
1913 – Sir WM Ramsay: The Imperial Peace – An Ideal pervading European History
1914 – Sir JJ Thomson: The Atomic Theory
1915 – EB Poulton: Science and the Great War
1916 – [Lecturership suspended]
1917 – [Lecturership suspended]
1918 – HH Asquith: Some aspects of the Victorian Age
1919 – [Lecturership suspended]
1920 – Dean Inge: The Idea of Progress
1921 – Joseph Bédier: Roland à Roncevaux
1922 – Sir Arthur Eddington: The Theory of Relativity and its Influence on Scientific Thought
1923 – John Burnet: Ignorance
1924 – John Masefield: Shakespeare and Spiritual Life
1925 – Sir William Bragg: The Crystalline State
1926 – GM Trevelyan: The Two-Party System in English Political History
1927 – Sir Frederick Kenyon: Museums and National Life
1928 – David Watson: Palaeontology and the Evolution of Man
1929 – Sir John Fortescue: The Vicissitudes of Organised Power
1930 – Winston Churchill: Parliamentary Government and Economic Development
1931 – John Galsworthy: The Creation of Character in Literature
1932 – Lord Moynihan: The Advance of Medicine
1933 – Sir Henry Hadow: The Place of Music among the Arts
1934 – Sir William Rothenstein: Form and Content in English Painting
1935 – Gilbert Murray: Then and Now – or the Changes of the Last Fifty Years
1936 – Sir Donald Tovey: Normality and Freedom in Music
1937 – Harley Granville-Barker: On Poetry and Drama
1938 – Viscount Cecil: Peace and Pacifism
1939 – Laurence Binyon: Art and Freedom
1940 – Edouard Herriot: [Lecture not delivered]
1941 – Lord Hailey: The Position of Colonies in a British Commonwealth of Nations
1942 – Norman Baynes: Intellectual Liberty and Totalitarian Claims
1943 – Julian Huxley: Evolutionary Ethics
1944 – GM Young: Mr Gladstone
1945 – André Siegfried: Characteristics and Limits of our Western Civilization
1946 – Sir John Anderson: The Machinery of Government
1947 – Viscount Samuel: Creative Man
1948 – Lord Schuster: Mountaineering
1949 – Lord Brabazon of Tara: Forty Years of Flight
1950 – Sir John Cockcroft: The Development and the Future of Nuclear Energy
1951 – Lord Hankey: The Science and Art of Government
1952 – Sir Lewis Namier: Monarchy and the Party System
1953 – Viscount Simon: Crown and Commonwealth
1954 – Sir Kenneth Clark: Moments of Vision
1955 – Albert Richardson: The Fine Arts and their Significance
1956 – Sir Thomas Beecham: John Fletcher – a Forgotten Poet and Dramatist
1957 – Ronald Knox: Translation
1958 – Lord Bridges: The State and the Arts
1959 – Lord Denning: From Precedent to Precedent
1960 – Lord Adrian: Factors in Mental Evolution
1961 – Viscount Massey: Canadians and their Commonwealth
1962 – Lord Radcliffe: Mountstuart Elphinstone
1963 – Lady Violet Bonham-Carter: The Impact of Personality on Politics
1964 – Sir Harold Hartley: Man and Nature
1965 – Noel Annan: The Disintegration of Culture
1966 – Sir Maurice Bowra: A Case for Human Learning
1967 – Lord Butler (RA Butler): The Difficult Art of Autobiography
1968 – Sir Peter Medawar: Science and Literature
1969 – Lord Holford: A World of Room
1970 – Sir Isaiah Berlin: Fathers and Children
1971 – Professor Raymond Aron: On the Use and Abuse of Futurology
1972 – Sir Karl Popper: On the Problem of Body and Mind
1973 – Sir Ernst Gombrich: Art History and the Social Sciences
1974 – Lord Zuckerman: Advice and Responsibility
1975 – Iris Murdoch: Why Plato Banished the Artists
1976 – The Rt Hon Edward Heath: The Future of a Nation
1977 – Sir Peter Hall: Form and Freedom in the Theatre
1978 – Sir George Porter: Science and the Human Purpose
1979 – Sir Hugh Casson: The Arts and the Academics
1980 – The Rt Hon Joseph Grimond: Is Political Philosophy based on a Mistake?
1981 – AJP Taylor: War in Our Time
1982 – Professor Sir Andrew Huxley: Biology, the Physical Sciences and the Mind
1983 – Professor WO Chadwick: Religion and Society
1985 – The Hon Miriam Rothschild: Animals and Man
1986 – Sir Nicholas Henderson: Different Approaches to Foreign Policy
1987 – The Rt Hon Norman St John-Stevas: The Omnipresence of Walter Bagehot
1988 – The Rt Hon Lord Dacre of Glanton: The Lost Moments of History –
1990 – Saul Bellow: The Distracted Public
1991 – Signor Giovanni Agnelli: Europe – Many Legacies, One Future
1992 – The Rt Hon the Lord Blake: Gladstone, Disraeli and Queen Victoria
1993 – Professor Sir Henry Harris: Hippolyte’s Club Foot – The medical roots of realism in modern European literature
1994 – The Rt Hon Lord Slynn of Hadley: Europe and Human Rights
1995 – Sir Walter Bodmer: The Book of Man – the complete catalogue of our genes will revolutionize our ability to deal with disease and to understand our origins
1996 – The Rt Hon Lord Jenkins of Hillhead: The Chancellorship – some present reflections with a little history
1997 – Mary Robinson: Realising Human Rights – Take hold of it boldly and duly …
1998 – Professor Amartya Sen: Reason before Identity
1999 – The Prime Minister, The Rt Hon Tony Blair MP: The Learning Habit
2000 – William G Bowen: At a Slight Angle to the Universe
2001 – Neil MacGregor: The Perpetual Present: The ideal of art for all
2002 – The Rt Hon Lord Bingham of Cornhill: Personal freedom and the dilemma of democracies
2003 – Sir Paul Nurse: The Great Ideas of Biology
2004 – The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams: Religious Lives
2005 – Shirley Tilghman, President of Princeton University: Strange Bedfellows: Science, Politics and Religion
2006 – The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer: Lecture postponed to 2009.
2007 – Dame Gillian Beer: Darwin and the Consciousness of Others
2008 – Professor Muhammad Yunus: Poverty-free world – When? How?
2009 – The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, The Prime Minister: Science and our Economic Future
2010 – Sir Andrew Motion: Bonfire of the Humanities
2011 – Professor The Lord Rees of Ludlow: The Limits of Science
2014 – Dr Steven Chu: Our Energy and Climate Change – Challenges and Solutions
2015 – Lord King: A Disequilibrium in the World Economy
2016 – Patricia Scotland QC: The Commonwealth of Nations
2018 – Hillary Rodham Clinton: Making the Case for Democracy
2018 – Dr Vint Cerf: The Pacification of Cyberspace
2019 – Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller: The Profession of Intelligence
2020 – Baroness Hale of Richmond: Law in a time of crisis
2021 – Dame Catherine Elizabeth Bingham, DBE: From wartime to peacetime
2022 – Taoiseach Micheál Martin T.D., Prime Minister of Ireland: The centre will hold
Where to Listen to Oxford Romanes Lectures Online
(Podcast Versions)
You can listen to several previous Romanes lectures through the website of the University of Oxford. There is actually a podcast that has the lectures online and accessible to all for free. Click on the links below to listen!
- 2019: Making the Case for Democracy. Hilary Clinton delivers the Romanes Lecture of Hope in the Sheldonian Theatre.
- 2012: The Limits of Science. Martin Rees of Ludlow delivers the Romanes Lecture of 2011.
- 2009: Tony Blair: The Learning Habit. Tony Blair delivers a Romanes lecture explaining what the government was seeking to achieve with its education reform.
- 2009: Gordon Brown: Science and our Economic Future. Gordon Brown delivers a Romanes lecture about investing in science and the future of competitiveness.
- 2008: Muhammad Yunus: A Poverty-free World? Muhammad Yunus delivers a Romanes lecture on the possibility of a poverty free world.
Links and Resources
Some relevant links and more information about the Romanes Lecture:
Learn More About Oxford University and the Lectures
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