Obituaries

Bob Hawke was Australia’s longest-serving Labour Prime Minister, and a charismatic and dearly-loved political leader.  He was highly respected on all sides of government, as the recent tide of tributes demonstrates.  Bob was an economic and social reformer whose consensus-focused leadership paved the way for economic modernisation, environmental protection, alliances with Asia and improved relations with Indigenous Australians.

In addition to his successful time as Prime Minister, he was a great supporter of the Rhodes community in Australia.  He was an active participant in RSA National, especially in the organisation’s early years.  He was the keynote speaker at the 2015 RSA dinner in Melbourne, he attended the 2014 dinner at which Prime Minister Tony Abbott (New South Wales & Queen’s 1981) spoke, and the 2016 dinner Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (New South Wales & Brasenose 1978) addressed. Bob was always interested in meeting the Scholars-Elect at these annual gatherings, and visiting with Scholar friends from all generations.

Bob’s tireless efforts, drive and ambition to change Australia for the better were life-long pursuits.  He certainly saw himself as ‘fighting the world’s fight’ - and few would disagree he did just that. The Rhodes community will miss Bob greatly.

Peggy was an Accountant at Rhodes House during Warden Robin Fletcher’s time, 1981-9. In recent years, Peggy shared the following with us: “We were always very busy. Approximately 170 Scholars were on stipend each year and since I had an office to myself they soon found I was a confidante to all comers. As to the extent of my experience at Rhodes House, I can only say I have never worked so hard, laughed so much and enjoyed any job more.”

A Rhodes Scholar who received his first of two law degrees while at Oxford, Chuck Lister joined the law firm Covington & Burling in 1970 after clerking for Justice Harlan and teaching at Yale Law School.  In 1988, he moved from Washington to the London office and served as Managing Partner there for several years. Widely regarded as one of the firm's most brilliant lawyers and gifted writers, he handled a broad range of litigation and arbitration matters, ranging from antitrust trial work in the States to appellate matters before the U.S. Supreme Court and the European Court of Justice.

Herman was a lawyer who practiced more than 40 years as partner at Capell Howard Knabe and Cobbs, PA. He was active in the early civil rights cases involving the City of Montgomery, including the Rosa Parks and Tuskegee Syphilis Cases. In addition to his corporate law work, he helped establish the Alabama Medicaid Agency which extended healthcare to the elderly and disabled; there he served as General Counsel and played a pivotal role in landmark cases involving Medicaid entitlement and reimbursement.

Richard was the longest-serving senator in Indiana, USA (1977 – 2013) and an authoritative voice on American foreign policy. During his Rhodes Scholarship he read for an MA Philosophy, Politics and Economics, graduating in 1956. Afterwards he joined the U.S Navy and was eventually assigned to the Pentagon as intelligence briefer for Admiral Arleigh Burke, chief of naval operations. His political career in Indiana began when he was elected mayor of Indianapolis aged 35 in 1967, serving two terms before his became a Senator in 1977. Whilst in office, he championed efforts to end apartheid in South Africa, remove Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos and secure the former Soviet Union’s weapons of mass destruction. He twice chaired the Foreign Relations Committee (1986 – 1987; 2003-2007) and ran for president in 1996. After leaving the Senate, he established The Lugar Centre to create the Bipartisan Index – a ranking of members of Congress by how often the co-sponsor legislation with members of the other party. Moreover, the Centre is a leading platform for an informed debate on global issues. Richard was a widely respected politician and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013. He passed away at a Medical Centre IN Falls Church, VA. He was 87.

Walter Frank was a veteran of WWII, a Harvard graduate (Class of '49), and a Rhodes Scholar. Walter is survived by his nieces, Isabelle and Claudine, and their children, Sophie Lilla and Henrik Elster, as well as many loving friends and colleagues. 

Elmer Sprague die on April 19, 2019 at the age of 94. He was a member of the Brooklyn College Philosophy Department for more than four decades, until his retirement in 1997.

In 1941 Elmer entered the University of Nebraska, where he studied under O.K. Bousma and received a B.A. degree. After three years of military service during World War II he received a Rhodes scholarship in 1947, entered Oxford University the following year and received his D. Phil. degree in 1952. Although Elmer acknowledged that he came, if only temporarily, under the influence of logical positivism at Oxford, his interest in the philosophy of his teacher Gilbert Ryle and the ideas of the “later” Wittgenstein began during his Oxford years and continued for the rest of his life.

From 'In Memoriam: Professor Emeritus Elmer Sprague (1924 - 2019)' by Professor Emeriti Eric Steinberg and Abigail L. Rosenthal. 

Hoyt Duggan (Louisiana & Pembroke 1960), retired professor of medieval literature at the University of Virginia, died April 8, 2019 after a long illness. He attended Baylor University and graduated from Centenary College of Louisiana. As a Rhodes Scholar, he studied at Pembroke College. After serving in the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps, he attended Princeton University to pursue a PhD. His published scholarship includes the Piers Plowman Electronic Archive, a print edition of The Wars of Alexander, and numerous articles on medieval metrics and editorial practice. 

Tom Baxter (Queensland & Balliol 1958) was born and raised in Brisbane and educated at Brisbane Grammar School. He played club rugby for the University of Queensland from where he was selected to make his senior representative debut for Queensland against the Springboks in 1956. Baxter received two Blues for Oxford in 1958 and again in 1959. During his time in England, Baxter also played club rugby for Blackheath. Tom was a Rhodes Scholar, a Wallaby and a successful engineer.