John Gurney
Emeritus Fellow
Biography
John Gurney was the university lecturer in Persian history and culture from 1966 to 2005, appointed a lecturer at Wadham from 1972 and a fellow from 1976. He established the Persian library and was responsible for its administration until 2005, during which time he was also for several years the fellow librarian. He is now an emeritus fellow. His research interests are centred on Iran in the nineteenth and twentieth century, especially the social and cultural history of Tehran and Isfahan in this period, and the biographies of scholars and travellers in the region.