Obituaries
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After reading for his degree in Mathematics whilst at Oxford, Dr Hogben joined the navy at the outbreak of the Second World War. His most crucial role during the war was as one of the meteorologists tasked with predicting the weather which would allow the Allies to launch D-Day. “It took courage for us to say ‘No’ on June 5; and it took courage to forecast ‘Yes’ for June 6. I was scared, I think we all were, of getting it wrong . . . we knew we were making history,” said Dr Hogben when looking back on events. After the war, he worked for the Rank Organisation as a meteorologist and two years later joined ICI, taking responsibility for public affairs across Europe. He was awarded the DSC and the American Bronze Star.
A distinguished medical scientist, professor of medicine and academic administrator. He was one of the first Canadian cardiologists to develop cardiac catheterization technique in Canada. Highlights of his career include being Head of the Department of Therapeutics at the Toronto General Hospital and Chair of the Department of Medicine at UWO. Dr Gunton was president of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, board member and fellow of numerous Canadian and international medical associations. At UWO he was a member of the Board of Governors and one of the central figures in establishing University Hospital and Robarts Heart and Brain Institute in London, Ontario. He was the recipient of numerous honours and awards for his commitment to medicine and research, some of which include the Order of Canada and Professor Emeritus and Honourary LLD, UWO. Dr Gunton has a research chair in Cardiology at Western named in his honour, as well as the Annual Gunton Symposium in Cardiology at Robarts Research Institute.
Worked as a medic in the UK for many years, including as a tutor, consultant physician and medical Director before returning to New Zealand.
An innovator in medicine, education and business, Dr Evans pioneered a new model of medical education as the founding Dean of McMaster University Medical School in 1965 and served as President of the University of Toronto from 1972 - 1978. Dr Evans was the first Director of the World Bank's Population, Health and Nutrition Division and also the CEO of Allelix, Canada's first biotechnology company. Other prominent positions during his career included Chair of TorStar, the first Chair of the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, the Chair of the Rockefeller Foundation and most recently, the founding Chair of MaRS. For a eulogy given by Ilse Treurnicht (South Africa-at-Large & Balliol 1979), please click here .
After his Rhodes Scholarship, Professor Whitehead pursued a long and successful career in academia. He focused on zoology, biochemistry and veterinary medicine and spent time in research foundations in Africa. Professor Whitehead served as Director of the Oxford Group Ltd (diagnostic equipment) and also published books and articles.
Mr Frohnmayer was an Oregon Republican who served three terms as attorney general in the 1980s and spent 15 years as president of the University of Oregon. He served in the state legislature before he was elected attorney general in 1980 and ran for governor in 1990 but lost in a three-way race to Democrat Barbara Roberts. During his time as president of the University of Oregon he fought to restore dwindling state funding, enlisted the university in efforts to battle climate change, supported American Indian students building a longhouse on campus and adopted the “O” logo made famous by the football team for the entire university.
Mr Dunn grew up El Paso, Texas and attended Princeton University. While at Oxford, he was elected Chairman of the Junior Members Council of the University. This Council included the Junior Council Presidents of each of the 30 colleges at Oxford. David was the first American student at Oxford student at Oxford to be elected to this position.Following graduation from Oxford, Mr Dunn entered the United States Army, he was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. David was honorably discharged from the Army at the rank of Captain on June 15, 1965.He then returned to Princeton University, where he studied at the Woodrow Wilson School for two years, and he was awarded a Masters Degree. In 1967, Mr Dunn began working at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. and during his distinguished World Bank career he contributed significantly to the Bank’s developmental efforts in a large number of countries in Asia and Africa, including India, Bangladesh, South Korea, Kenya, and Somalia. He served in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s as Chief of the Bangladesh Division within The World Bank.
President of the Australian Academy of Science 1978-82, Dr Evans was a highly distinguished plant scientist whose research has focused on the physiology of flowering. After completing a DPhil at Oxford, he worked at the California Institute of Technology before becoming a research scientist at the CSIRO Division of Plant Industry. During his time there he was the biologist in charge of the establishment of CERES, the controlled environment research facility known as the phytotron. He was Chief of the Division from 1971 to 1978. Elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 1971, he served as its president from 1978 to 1982. He was the author of numerous published papers and reviews, mainly in the field of plant physiology, and wrote several books, several of which became standard textbooks.
Read for an MSt in European Literature and his DPhil whilst at Oxford and subsequently worked as a Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Cape Town, and as the convenor for postgraduate studies in the Department. His research interests centered on the novel form – his doctorate work was concerned with George Eliot, Joseph Conrad and Olive Schreiner – and the historical development of novelistic fiction in South Africa. He tragically lost his long battle with cancer. An obituary written by Jacobus Cilliers (Diocesan College, Rondebosch & Balliol 2008) can be read here.