John Manning Ward (6 July 1919 – 6 May 1990) was a

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

and Challis Professor of History at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. Ward was born in Sydney and was educated at

Fort Street Boys High School Fort Street High School (FSHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Mixed-sex school, co-educational Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective secondary school, secondary day school, located in Petersh ...

and the University of Sydney. He was admitted to the NSW Bar in 1948.

Career

Professor Ward served as Challis Professor of History from 1948 to 1979. He steered the History Department through a period of scarce resources into an era of expansion.

Books

He produced major books and articles on British, Imperial and Australian history. His books include ''British Policy in the South Pacific, 1796-1893'' (reprinted three times); ''Earl Grey and the Australian Colonies, 1847-1856''; ''Colonial Self-Government, the British Experience, 1759-1856''; and ''James Macarthur, Colonial Conservative, 1798-1867'', the latter being the first in a trilogy on conservatism in Australia. Professor Ward had planned on retirement to complete the other two books in the series. He was appointed visiting professor at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1963; visiting fellow at

All Souls College All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

, Oxford in 1968; and was the Smuts Visiting Fellow at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1972.

University administration

Ward had previously been Fellow of Senate from 1974 to 1977, and took office as vice-chancellor of the University of Sydney in 1981 and held that position until 1990. He was the first University of Sydney graduate to have held that post since the university's foundation. Professor Ward was a member of the university staff for 47 years.

Death

On 6 May 1990, Professor Ward, together with his wife Patricia, 69, and his daughter Jennifer, 36, were on board the

3801 3801 (pronounced Thirty-eight o-one) is a 4-6-2 steam locomotive operated by the New South Wales Government Railways between 1943 and 1974. It is arguably Australia's most famous steam locomotive, being the only one to have visited all mainla ...

steam train on a Sunday excursion run between Sydney and the

Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...

. They were all killed when a commuter train collided with the rear of the steam train near

Hawkesbury River railway station Hawkesbury River railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main North and Central Coast–Newcastle lines in Brooklyn in the Hornsby Shire local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The station serves th ...

in the

Cowan rail accident The Cowan rail accident occurred at 7:20pm on 6 May 1990 when the 3801 Limited special steam passenger train returning from the Morpeth Jazz Festival was struck in the rear by the following CityRail inter-urban passenger service. The steam t ...

. The collision also killed Moira Jennings, the wife of the registrar, as well as injuring several other members of the university.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, John Manning 1919 births 1990 deaths Vice-Chancellors of the University of Sydney Railway accident deaths in Australia 20th-century Australian historians Accidental deaths in New South Wales