Henry Spenser Wilkinson (1 May 1853 in Hulme, Manchester - 31 January 1937 in Oxford) was the first Chichele Professor of Military History at Oxford University. While he was an English writer known primarily for his work on military subjects, he had wide interests. Earlier in his career he was the drama critic for London's Morning Post.he second son of Thomas Read Wilkinson, a banker, and his wife Emma Wolfenden, he was born and raised near Manchester. He was educated at Owens College, Manchester and studied at Merton College, Oxford in 1873-1878. While at Oxford, he became interested in armies and began his lifelong interest in military affairs. As an undergraduate, he joined the Oxford Volunteers. After Oxford, he read law at Lincoln's Inn and was called to the bar in 1880. 1] On returning to Manchester in 1880, he took a commission in the volunteers and also founded the Manchester Tactical Society. In 1880, Wilkinson married Victoria Crowe (1868-1929), daughter of Sir Joseph Archer Crowe and niece of the artist Eyre Crowe. Together, he and his wife had two sons and four daughter