James Delbourgo

James Delbourgo is a writer and historian. He is the James Westfall Thompson Distinguished Professor of History at Rutgers University.

Delbourgo was born in Britain to Italian parents and educated at Reigate Grammar School, where he studied literature, acting and modern languages; and the University of East Anglia, Christ's College, Cambridge, and Columbia University, where he studied history. He previously taught at McGill University and Harvard.

His book ''Collecting the World'' explored the life and career of Hans Sloane, which culminated in the foundation of the British Museum in 1753. It is based on 15 years of research in Sloane's surviving London collections in collaboration with the British Museum, Natural History Museum and British Library. Published by Penguin in the UK and Belknap in the US, the book won four prizes, made four shortlists, and was named Book of the Week in the ''Guardian'', London ''Times'', ''Daily Mail'' and ''The Week'' Magazine, and one of ''Apollo Magazine'''s Books of the Year.

Delbourgo is also a novelist. Provided by Wikipedia