Herbert Armitage James

Herbert Armitage James, CH was a Welsh cleric and headmaster of three leading public schools, who ended his remarkable scholastic career, as it was later described by Austen Chamberlain, by becoming President of St Johns College, Oxford. After an Oxford education and early teaching career at Marlborough College, he was headmaster of Rossall School from 1875 to 1886. It was said that he raised the school to a pitch of allround excellence which it had not known before. After suffering from health problems at Rossall, he served as Dean of St Asaph from 1886 to 1889. He returned to teaching in 1889, becoming headmaster of Cheltenham College and remaining in this post until 1895, despite being offered the position of headmaster of Clifton College. He then became headmaster of Rugby School and served there to great acclaim. His Rugby School nickname of The Bodger is still in use at the school. He left Rugby School in 1909 to become President of St Johns College, Oxford, a position he held u

James was born in Kirkdale, Liverpool, the son of the Rev. Dr. David James, who was rector of Panteg, Monmouthshire, from 1856 to 1871. Herbert James was educated at King Henry VIII Grammar School, Abergavenny, and then studied at two Oxford colleges. He matriculated at Jesus College in 1863, before winning a scholarship and moving along Turl Street to Lincoln College in 1864, obtaining a firstclass degree in Literae Humaniores in 1867. He was appointed a Fellow of St Johns College in 1869 and was President of the Oxford Union Society in 1871 . He was then ordained, and received his Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1874. Later, onMay 1895, he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity, having previously been excused by the University from satisfying the requirements normally set for the award of the degree.

Source: Wikipedia