Jonathan Vivian Rosenhead (born 21 September 1938) is a British

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

operational research Operations research ( en-GB, operational research) (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a discipline that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve deci ...

er and Labour Party activist.Professor Jonathan Rosenhead
The London School of Economics and Political Science, accessed 2019-10-25.

Early life and career

Jonathan Rosenhead is the son of mathematician

Louis Rosenhead Louis Rosenhead CBE (1 January 1906 – 10 November 1984) was a British mathematician noted for his work on fluid mechanics, and was head of the Department of Applied Mathematics at Liverpool University from 1933 to 1973. Life Rosenhead was born ...

.Stuart, J. T. (1986) ''Louis Rosenhead. 1 January 1906-10 November 1984''. Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, 32, 407–420.
doi:10.2307/770118 He studied at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

( St. John's College) where he received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in mathematics in 1959. He continued his studies at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

where he received an M.Sc. degree in statistics in 1961, and an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from Cambridge in 1963. He worked as an operational researcher at

United Steel Companies The United Steel Companies was a steelmaking, engineering, coal mining and coal by-product group based in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, England. History The company was registered in 1918 and the following year saw a joining together of ste ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

in 1961-63 and at Science in General Management Ltd. (SIGMA) in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

in 1963-66 before returning to the academic world.

Academic career

Rosenhead spent 1966-67 at the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...

and its

Management Science Management science (or managerial science) is a wide and interdisciplinary study of solving complex problems and making strategic decisions as it pertains to institutions, corporations, governments and other types of organizational entities. It is ...

Centre, where

Russell L. Ackoff Russell Lincoln Ackoff (February 12, 1919 – October 29, 2009) was an American organizational theorist, consultant, and Anheuser-Busch Professor Emeritus of Management Science at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Ackoff was a pion ...

was professor. In 1967 he joined the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

as a lecturer in operational research. He became a senior lecturer in 1981 and professor of operational research in 1987. He retired in 2003. Within operational research (OR), Rosenhead is primarily associated with the development of "soft OR" from the late 1970s, which resulted in the development of a number of new OR methods. He was the editor of the first book to gather a number of

problem structuring methods Problem structuring methods (PSMs) are a group of techniques used to model or to map the nature or structure of a situation or state of affairs that some people want to change. PSMs are usually used by a group of people in collaboration (rather t ...

within one volume, ''Rational analysis for a problematic world'', published in 1989. He was president of the

Operational Research Society The Operational Research Society (ORS), also known as The OR Society, is an international learned society in the field of operational research (OR), with more than 3,100 members (2021). It has its headquarters in Birmingham, England. History The ...

in 1986-87.

Political activism

Rosenhead was a Labour Party candidate for Kensington South at the 1966 general election. His candidacy was endorsed by notable local residents, including playwright

Keith Waterhouse Keith Spencer Waterhouse (6 February 1929 – 4 September 2009) was a British novelist and newspaper columnist and the writer of many television series. Biography Keith Waterhouse was born in Hunslet, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. H ...

, designer

Misha Black Sir Misha Black (16 October 1910 – 11 October 1977) was a British-Azerbaijani architect and designer. In 1933 he founded with associates in London the organisation that became the Artists' International Association. In 1943, with Milner Gray ...

, writer Baroness Stocks, architect

Sir Hugh Casson Sir Hugh Maxwell Casson (23 May 1910 – 15 August 1999) was a British architect. He was also active as an interior designer, as an artist, and as a writer and broadcaster on twentieth-century design. He was the director of architecture for t ...

, writer Brigid Brophy and novelist

Lord Snow "Lord Snow" is the third episode of the first season of the HBO medieval fantasy television series '' Game of Thrones''. It first aired on May 1, 2011. It was written by series creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by series regul ...

. However, Rosenhead came a distant second to the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, who held the seat with a large majority. He was active in the

British Society for Social Responsibility in Science The British Society for Social Responsibility in Science (BSSRS) was a radical science movement most active in the 1970s. The main aims of the BSSRS was to raise awareness of the social responsibilities of scientists, the political aspects of sci ...

over a 20-year period, including a stint as chair of the society. His political activities has included being chairman of the

British Committee for the Universities of Palestine The British Committee for Universities of Palestine (BRICUP) was organized in 2004 in response to a Palestinian call for academic and cultural boycott of Israel. The idea of an academic boycott against Israel first emerged publicly in England o ...

(BRICUP) and being information officer for

Jewish Voice for Labour Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL) is an organisation formed in 2017 for British Jews, Jewish members of the Labour Party (UK), UK Labour Party. Its aims include a commitment "to strengthen the party in its opposition to all forms of racism, includ ...

. Rosenhead was involved in the campaign against South African

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

. He was arrested at a May 1972 demonstration against the English rugby team which was departing for a tour in South Africa. He was convicted of a public order offence and fined. In 2020, Rosenhead learned that a fellow protester, who was also arrested at the demonstration, was an undercover police officer working in the Special Demonstration Squad.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenhead, Jonathan 1938 births Living people British mathematicians British operations researchers Academics of the London School of Economics Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Jewish socialists