William George Hoskins CBE FBA (22 May 1908 – 11 January 1992) was an English
local historian who founded the first university department of
English Local History. His great contribution to the study of history was in the field of
landscape history. Hoskins demonstrated the profound impact of human activity on the evolution of the English landscape in a pioneering book:
The Making of the English Landscape. His work has had lasting influence in the fields of local and landscape history and historical and environmental conservation.