Bull London Math Soc Page1of9 C 2007 London Mathematical Society doi 10 1112/blms/bdm067 OBITUARY

Abstract:  Sir Edward?s working life was full and long. He supported himself from the age of fourteen until he retired as Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen at the age of seventy. He had been elected to the Chair of Mathematics there at the early age of twenty-nine. While under his guidance as Principal, the university went through a vigorous expansion, with many new buildings and appointments. He had enormous affection for Aberdeen, both the city and its ancient university. When he retired, he stayed on in Aberdeen until at the age of ninety he left to live with his son in Berkshire. He died peacefully on 2 February 2005, a few days before his 99th birthday, and is buried in Oxford. He particularly enjoyed the company of his grandchildren, Jane, Lucy, Vicky and Edward, and was delighted when he became a great-grandfather. He was born on 13 February 1906 in a village just outside Leeds. Initially, the family was highly prosperous. His father owned a soap factory making ?Wright?s Washall Soap?. Unfortunately, when he was three years old, his father?s business collapsed. His parents separated and he and his mother moved south. She was a skilled musician and music teacher who obtained jobs at boarding schools where she could ? for a reduction in salary ? have her