†W. R. Ward, (1925-2010) D.Phil. (Oxford), Hon. D. Theol (Basel), FBA (Fellow of the British Academy)

Emeritus Professor of Modern History at the University of Durham

Reginald Ward wrote prolifically on John Wesley, Methodism, and the rise of Evangelicalism. Along with Richard Heitzenrater he edited the seven volumes of John Wesley's Journals and Diaries in the Bicentennial Edition of the Works of John Wesley (Abingdon Press, 1988-2003). His influential works on early Evangelicalism include: The Protestant Evangelical Awakening (1992); Christianity under the Ancien Régime,1648-1789 (1999); and Early Evangelicalism: A Global Intellectual History, 1670-1789 (2006). Many of his articles on Methodism and the international Evangelical Revival have been published in Faith and Faction (1993).

A note of appreciation for Prof. Ward's work can be found in the autumn 2010 Ecclesiastical History Society newsletter. An assessment of his contribution to early Evangelical history has been published in Books and Culture.