Portal:University of Oxford/On this day/January 12

Births
 * 1860 – Sir Charles Oman (New College and All Souls), Chichele Professor of Modern History
 * 1891 – Sir John Cecil Masterman (Worcester and Christ Church), writer and academic who ran the Double-Cross System of agents during the Second World War
 * 1891 – Henry Wells (Magdalen), rower and judge
 * 1906 – Eric Birley (Brasenose), historian and archeologist
 * 1915 – Norman Cohn (Christ Church), historian
 * 1927 – Leslie Orgel (Magdalen), chemist
 * 1935 – John Gross (Wadham), writer and editor
 * 1936 – Glen Bowersock (Balliol), American historian of Ancient Greece and Rome
 * 1942 – Sir John Stanley (Lincoln), Conservative politician
 * 1947 – Richard Carwardine (Corpus Christi and St Catherine's), President of Corpus Christi and former Rhodes Professor of American History
 * 1953 – Mary Harron (St Anne's), Canadian filmmaker

Deaths
 * 1960 – Nevil Shute (Balliol), novelist
 * 2009 – Mick Imlah (Magdalen), Scottish poet
 * 2012 – Reginald Hill (St Catherine's), crime writer
 * 2015 – John Bayley (New College and St Catherine's), literary critic and husband of Iris Murdoch