Sub-sub-sub-series 3 - Admissions Papers: Tanner

Joseph Robson Tanner was born on the 28th July 1860, the son of Joseph Tanner, who headed a printing firm in Somerset. He was educated at Mill Hill School, before coming up to St John’s in 1879. There, he placed in the First Class of the Historical Tripos, and was both Treasurer and President of the Union Society. Tanner became a Fellow of the College in 1886; from there, he also held posts as College Lecturer in History (1883-1912), Director of Historical Studies (1905-1920), Assistant Tutor (1895-1900), Tutor (1900-1912) and Tutorial Bursar (1900-1921). He was also a member of the Council of the Senate, the Press Syndicate, and edited the Historical Register of the University of Cambridge.
Tanner continued to write frequently after his post-war retirement from College services, producing and editing works such as the Cambridge Medieval History, Samuel Pepys and the Royal Navy, and English Constitutional Conflicts of the Seventeenth Century.
Tanner was married in 1888, to Charlotte Maria Larkman. He died on the 16th January 1931, and his funeral was held in the College Chapel the following week.

Obituary in the Eagle: Vol. 46, Easter 1931, p. 184

The Reverend Charles Edward Graves was born in London on 11th November 1839, the son of James John, a silk manufacturer. He attended Leamington College and Shrewsbury School, before matriculating at St John’s in 1858. He graduated BA (2nd Classic) in 1862 and was elected a Fellow in 1863; however he had to renounce this position when he married in 1865. Graves was ordained the following year, serving for two years as curate of St Luke’s in Chesterton, and for eight years as chaplain of Magdalene College. Following the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge Act of 1877, which meant that Fellows were no longer required to remain celibate, Graves was re-elected a Fellow in 1893. It was during this stint that he also served as a Tutor, alongside Dr Tanner, from 1895 to 1905.

He was popular while engaged as a private Tutor for Classics, as well as when employed as a lecturer, and was known for his generosity and humour. He died on 21st October 1920, and was survived by his son and four daughters.

Obituary in The Eagle: Vol 42, Lent 1921, p. 57