Sir Stephen Henry Roberts CMG (16 February 1901 in Maldon, Victoria – 17 March 1971) was an Australian academic, writer, historian, international analyst, and university vice-chancellor.
His father Christopher Roberts was a miner of Cornish descent, his mother Doris Elsie Whillemina, née Wagener, of German.
Here he was taught by Harold Laski and Lillian Knowles, and chose French colonial policy from the 1870s to the 1920s as his dissertation topic, carrying out much of the archival work in Paris.
This school of thought espoused the importance of rigorous application of data and was critical of a romantic view of the past.
[1] Roberts had met Nazi leaders and attended their rallies, which in 1937, with his knowledge of Central European history, led to his most noted book, The House That Hitler Built.
While principal he called for financial backing for university foundations from leaders of commerce, industry and public life.
[1] He developed and expanded the University of Sydney after post-war austerity ended, and oversaw a building programme extension into Darlington.
[1] Roberts gave support to the training of Pacific Islanders and Papua New Guineans in Sydney's medical faculty, while he celebrated Charles Perkins as the first Aborigine to graduate with a degree.
[1] Roberts died as a consequence of heart disease in March 1971 on board ship near Port Melbourne, while travelling to Europe with his wife.