Charles Earle Raven was born on 4 July 1885 in London. A theologian and Anglican priest, his influential work demonstrated the positive influence of theology on modern science. Assistant Secretary for Secondary Education in Liverpool in 1908, he was ordained in 1909 before becoming Dean of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. During the First World War, he worked at Tonbridge School and served as an army chaplain. Appointed Chaplain to the King in 1920, he became Canon of Liverpool Cathedral in 1924. Raven’s final position was in 1932 as Regius Professor of Divinity, Cambridge.
Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge from 1947 to 1949, he presided over the admission of women as full members of the university. In his retirement, he lectured internationally, developed a programme for Sixth Form boys, and enhanced religious broadcasting. Notable works include Christian Socialism, 1848–1854 (1920), Apollinarianism (1923), In Praise of Birds (1925), Jesus and the Gospel of Love (1931), Is War Obsolete? (1935), Evolution and the Christian Conception of God (1936), War and the Christian (1939), John Ray, Naturalist (1942), and Science, Religion and the Future (1943).
