Mike Esbester

Dr Mike Esbester is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Portsmouth, UK. His research specialises in the history of safety, risk and accident prevention in modern Britain, from the late 19th century to the present, and in the history of transport and mobility, particularly railways. He co-leads the collaborative 'Railway Work, Life & Death' project, looking at accidents to British and Irish railway staff before 1939.

Mike's publications include Governing Risks in Modern Britain: Danger, Safety and Accidents, c.1800-2000 (edited, with Tom Crook); Health and Safety in Contemporary Britain: Society, Legitimacy, and Chance since 1960 (with Paul Almond); and 'Digital Disasters: Crowdsourcing the Railway Accident' in Transport and Its Place in History: Making the Connections (ed. David Turner). Media experience includes contributions to national and local broadcast and print news media, and as an historical expert, including on the BBC TV programme 'Who Do You Think You Are?'