John Harold Smith (1927–2002) was an English sociologist. He was Professor of Sociology at the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

from 1964 to 1991.

Early life

Born in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

on 21 April 1927, Smith attended

Harvey Grammar School The Harvey Grammar School is located in Folkestone, Kent, England. It is a grammar school with academy status founded by the family of William Harvey in 1674. Admissions A selective school for boys only, the school has around 900 on its roll. ...

; during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he served with the

Royal Observer Corps The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was a civil defence organisation intended for the visual detection, identification, tracking and reporting of aircraft over Great Britain. It operated in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December ...

and as a

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. On demobilisation, he read

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, graduating in 1950.

Academic career

Smith then worked as a researcher at the Acton Society Trust, before returning to the LSE as a lecturer in social sciences and administration. In 1964, he became the first Professor of Sociology and head of the Sociology and Social Policy Department at the

; he retired in 1991."Professor John Smith", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' (London), 5 August 2002, p. 29. At Southampton, he was the dean of social sciences from 1967 to 1970 and the deputy vice-chancellor from 1974 to 1978. He was also involved in expanding its library and special collections and was described in one obituary as the "driving force" behind the university's Nuffield Theatre,

Turner Sims Concert Hall Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...

and

John Hansard Gallery The John Hansard Gallery is a contemporary visual art gallery and part of the University of Southampton. History The John Hansard Building was originally located in building 50 in the University of Southampton building coding scheme. It wa ...

. According to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Smith "played a leading role in developing the University of Southampton's social sciences faculty and was an authority on the social psychologist

Elton Mayo George Elton Mayo (26 December 1880 – 7 September 1949) was an Australian born psychologist, industrial researcher, and organizational theorist.Cullen, David O'Donald. ''A new way of statecraft: The career of Elton Mayo and the development o ...

"; an industrial sociologist by specialism, he co-authored (with

Nancy Seear Beatrice Nancy Seear, Baroness Seear (7 August 1913 – 23 April 1997) was a British social scientist and politician. She was leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Lords from 1984 to 1988, and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the ...

and

Pearl Jephcott Agnes Pearl Jephcott (1 May 1900 – 9 November 1980), known by her middle name Pearl, was an English social researcher and girls' club organiser. Early life, education and girls' club organising Jephcott was born on 1 May 1900 in Alcester, Warwi ...

) ''Married Working Women'' in 1962, as well as a number of other monographs and articles related to his discipline. In the 1970s and 1980s, he researched the impact of computing.

Personal life

Smith was a keen gardener, follower of cricket and fan of Hitchcock's

thrillers Thriller is a genre of fiction, having numerous, often overlapping subgenres. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety. Suc ...

and

western films Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

. He married Jean Horton in 1951 and had with her three children Christopher, Nigel and Rachel, who all survived him when he died on 4 May 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, John 1927 births 2002 deaths English sociologists Alumni of the London School of Economics Academics of the University of Southampton