G. R. Elton

Sir Geoffrey Rudolph Elton (born Gottfried Rudolf Otto Ehrenberg) was a German-born British historian specializing in the Tudor period, particularly the reigns of Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell. He is renowned for his 1953 book *The Tudor Revolution in Government*, arguing that Cromwell initiated modern bureaucratic government, and for his advocacy of political and administrative history. Elton taught at Clare College, Cambridge, from 1949, served as Regius Professor of Modern History from 1983 to 1988, and was president of the Royal Historical Society.