Roderick Floud is an economic historian of modern Britain who has been a pioneer in several fields. He was one of the first British historians to make use of computing and statistical methods and published the first textbook in that field.  

He worked with an international group to create “anthropometric history”, the study of human heights and weights as a means of understanding changes in nutrition and living standards. His research has included the economic history of British gardening and he has also edited four editions of The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain, the leading textbook in the field. 

Roderick was a Professor of Modern History at Birkbeck from 1975-1988 and the vice-chancellor for 18 years of what is now London Metropolitan University. He was also President of Universities UK and Vice-President of the European University Association and was knighted for services to higher education