Dr Richard Ward

Dr Richard Ward is Senior Lecturer in Digital History at the University of Exeter. He is a historian of crime, justice and punishment Britain, c.1700-1900, with a particular interest in digital approaches to the subject.

Richard joined the University of Exeter as Lecturer in Digital History in September 2017 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2024.

Richard's current research investigates the emergence of personal data collection, particularly about convicts, in the nineteenth century. The aim of this research is to uncover the historical roots of present-day issues around the collection and use of personal data.

Prior to joining the University of Exeter, Richard was a Postdoctoral Researcher on two major, collaborative projects. First, from 2011-2013, the Harnessing the Power of the Criminal Corpse project at the University of Leicester (funded by the Wellcome Trust). And secondly, from 2013 to August 2017, the Digital Panopticon project (funded by the AHRC).

Rchard has a BA and MA in History at the University of Sheffield, where he also completed a Ph.D. in History in 2011, supervised by Professor Robert Shoemaker and Professor Karen Harvey.

Richard's first book, Print Culture, Crime and Justice in Eighteenth-Century London, was published with Bloomsbury in 2014.

Richard welcomes enquires from prospective PhD students and early career researchers who are interested in the history of crime, justice and punishment, the social and cultural history of Britain c.1700-1900, or in the approach of Digital History/Digital Humanities.