Obituaries

Professor Jonathan (Jon) Borwein read Msc and DPhil Maths as a Rhodes Scholar and was Laureate Professor of Mathematics at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Jon was a leading Scholar in experimental mathematics but he also had a breadth of knowledge across pure mathematics, optimisation theory, computer science and mathematical finance. He was also passionate about reaching out to a broader audience through mediums such as The Conversation and The Huffington post. Jon contributed two articles to the Rhodes Scholar Blog this year on the Indian mathematician Ramanujan (link to this rhodes blog post> and he shared his long-running interest in Pi . Jon also served on many committees and organisational boards, including Governor at large of the Mathematical Association of America (2004-07) and President of the Canadian Mathematical Society (2000-02).

We are saddened by the news of Herbert Benington's passing. He came to Oxford in 1950 to study mathematics.

Born in Jersey City, Reginald was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship in 1956 and graduated in PPE. He then attended New York University as a Root-Tilden Scholar to study law. Afterwards he served as an Infantry Lieutenant in the US Army and Reserves. Reginald’s legal career started in Morristown and he was raised to the bench of the Superior Court of New Jersey in 1975. In 1985, Reginald became the Assignment Judge of Morris and Sussex Counties until he retired at 70. He was active in many spheres, including being a member of the US Rhodes Scholarship Committee and, president of the Morris County Bar Association and The Morristown Club to name a few. Reginald also received recognition, most notably honorary degrees from St. Peter's College and Seton Hall University.

Dr John Brademas, born in Mishawaka, graduated Oxford with a DPhil in Politics. He went on to be a Democrat Congressman for 22 years, championing education and increased government funding for the arts. 1981 to 1992 he became New York University’s 13th president and created its global reputation today. He was a skilled politician and fundraiser which led to great achievements: he raised $8000 million for NYU, almost doubled its endowment, recruited top Scholars, created new fields of study, grew the campus and established NYU study programs in Cyprus, Egypt, France, Israel and Japan. In 2005, NYU setup the John Brademas Centre for the Study of Congress, a research and teaching facility. Throughout his life he received a plethora of honorary degrees and awards, including the Distinguished Friend of Oxford. External link <https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/12/nyregion/john-brademas-indiana-congressman-and-nyu-president-dies-at-89.html?_r=1>

The Rev Dr Richard Pfaff gained a DPhil in Theology from the University of Oxford and went on to become a Priest (1966), and a history professor in ecclesiastical, cultural, and political history of medieval England at the University of North Carolina. During his academic career he was Secretary of the Faulty, Chairman of the Library Boards and member of the Chancellor’s Executive Advisory Committee. Outside of his Scholarly work, he was a Priest Associate at the Chapel of the Cross from 1968 until his death.

The Hon Mr Justice Keith McCall was a South African judge who made an immense contribution to the development of labour law in its early stages. He studied Law at Oxford and was called to the Bar in 1962. Keith was appointed as a judge in 1992 and continued to be a judge long after retirement.

After leaving Vitoria College, University of Toronto, Ken served in the Canadian Forces Intelligence Corps, 1944-46. He studied at Balliol College and graduated from Oxford with a PPE degree in 1948. His 40 year career in Foreign Service started in the Department of External Affairs. He worked in the Havana, Washington, attended UN conferences and he was also Canadian Ambassador to Cuba, Haiti and Sweden.

Contrary to common perception, some critics never lose their enthusiasm or desire for discovery. David Murray, who has died aged 79, was a music critic for the Financial Times for 27 years and the epitome of the ever-questing intellect. No boundaries seemed to exist in his embrace of music past and present. No work was too obscure or too small to rouse his interest. Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Murray spent his Canadian childhood with an omnivorous appetite for the arts. By his teens he was already excelling in multiple fields. As a pianist, he performed with success in piano competitions, his technique enabling him to master Ravel’s Piano Concerto In G, among others. As a composer, he wrote incidental music for radio plays. As a director, he worked in the theatre. As an actor, he performed in a Canadian radio series that was seen as a forerunner of the popular British radio series The Archers. In a lighter vein he was also an expert conjuror in his youth.It cannot have come as a surprise when, at 19, he arrived as a Rhodes Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford. A postgraduate year in Paris followed, and he was never to forget hearing Messiaen practise as organist at the Église de la Sainte-Trinité. Although he returned briefly to Canada to work in Edmonton, Alberta, it was a move to London that was to decide the future path of his career. This would be divided between two areas of expertise: philosophy and music.

From 'David Murray, FT music critic and academic, 1937-2016', by Richard Fairman, The Financial Times, 20 June 2016. 

Mr Hurlock led a distinguished forty-one-year career at the law firm of White & Case, where for twenty years he served as Managing Partner overseeing the firm's global expansion. He was a Director and Chairman of Orient Express Hotels, Deputy Chairman of Acergy, and Interim CEO of Stolt-Nielson Transportation Group. He was a founding board member of the International Development Law Organization and served as Chairman from 2001-2004. He was a Trustee of the Corporation of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, New York Presbyterian Hospital, and the Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law at Columbia University, where he served as Chairman. In 2010 the New York State Bar Association bestowed on him its Root/Stimson Award for exemplary commitment to community service. Mr Hurlock loved fishing, hunting and sailing with his family, and completed a transatlantic race and seven Bermuda races, the first in 1962. External Link <http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?pid=179830206>