Walter Edward Minchinton, FRHistS (29 April 1921 – 25 August 1996) was a British historian and academic.
A graduate of the London School of Economics, the younger Minchinton served as an officer in the Second World War and in 1948 was appointed to an assistant lectureship at University College Swansea; he was promoted to a full lectureship in 1950, and then to be a senior lecturer in 1959.
In 1964, the University of Exeter established its Economic History Department, and appointed Minchinton as its head; he served in that capacity until 1984.
He was also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and won the RHS's Alexander Prize in 1953 for his article "Bristol – metropolis of the west in the eighteenth century".
[1][2][3][4] Minchinton retired from Exeter in 1986 and was appointed to an emeritus professorship.