John Bradley Hirst, (9 July 1942 – 3 February 2016) was an Australian historian and commentator. He has been described as an "historian, public intellectual, and active citizen". Born in Adelaide, Hirst attended Unley High School and undertook his undergraduate and postgraduate study at the University of Adelaide. Abandoning an early desire to become a Methodist Minister, in 1968 he was appointed a lecturer at Melbourne's new La Trobe University, where he remained until the end of his career