Lectures & Events

King's Maritime History Seminars

The King’s Seminars are an annual set of lectures organised by the BCMH, which run from October to May. They are open to the public and are normally held at King’s College London (and broadcast live via Zoom). The Kings Seminars are a range of lectures by invited speakers. There are usually two each month during term time.

The series is organised by Dr Alan James, and are supported by the Society for Nautical Research and the ‘Laughton Naval History Unit’ and ‘Sir Michael Howard Centre for the History of War’ at the Department of War Studies, King's College London. 

Seminar Series, 2023-24 

The King’s Maritime History Seminars for 2023-24 will continue as hybrid events which means that they may be attended in person or online (with the exception of the entirely online event on 21 March).

How to register

As always, attendance is free and open to all. To take part, though, you must register on Eventbrite by visiting the KCL School of Security Studies Events page  

Note: the listings will not be made available on Eventbrite right away. You may have to wait for the papers you’re interested in to appear. Please do check back nearer the event date. 

For those attending online, you will receive instructions shortly before the event, by email, about how to join by Zoom. Otherwise, we will meet in person as usual in the Dockrill Room, K6.07, King’s Building, at King’s College London. Papers will begin at 17:15 GMT. 

Lecture dates

Download the full Autumn Term Programme

Contact us to find out more about the King's Seminars

*Note that registration for the Proctor Lecture on 14 December 2023 is to be done by the BCMH website link. Registration details to follow nearer the time. 

Proctor Memorial Lecture

Next lecture: Thursday 14 December, 2023

This year's lecture will be given by Ruth Schilling, DSM German Maritime Museum, Leibniz Institute for Maritime History on "Changing Perspectives: Positioning the Sea in Recent German Historiography"  

The Proctor lecture forms part of the King's Seminars series of lectures, but is usually held at Lloyd’s Register as a very special event within our calendar. 

The annual Proctor Memorial Lecture celebrates the great contribution of David Proctor to maritime history both in Britain and internationally. Fittingly, the distinguished scholars invited to present the lecture alternate between UK and international lecturers.

This year there will be a small charge for this event, to help toward supporting speaker’s travel to the lecture and to also ensure that people who have registered want to come on the night (we usually have a large waiting list for this popular event so want to avoid ‘no shows’ where possible).

Register your place to attend the event by 10 December using Eventbrite.

David Proctor

David Proctor, who died in July 2000, was a man of wide culture; his interests embraced maritime history, the arts, music, and much more. His book Music of the Sea demonstrated the breadth of his scholarship, ranging over the centuries and drawing on his research in many European archives.

Until his retirement, David was Keeper of Manuscripts at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, where he was a source of advice to countless scholars, often from overseas, who sought his guidance. Such qualities led to him serving as Secretary-General of the International Commission for Maritime History in its early years. He did much to establish its structures and pattern of activity as well as contributing to its conferences held under the aegis of the International Commission for Historical Sciences. He also played a significant role in the founding of the International Congress of Maritime Museums.

David was a founder member of the British Commission and its first Secretary. He inaugurated the King’s Maritime History Seminar which he organized for many years. The annual Proctor Memorial Lecture is dedicated to David.

Workshops

The BCMH host workshops (usually once a year) to help researchers that are interested in enhancing knowledge and understanding of human societies’ relationship with the sea. Find out about our 1-day event - 'Doing Maritime History Research Online' on 4 February 2022.