Richard D'Aeth (3 June 1912 – 19 February 2008) was a British

educationalist Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...

and President of Hughes Hall,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

, from 1978 to 1984.

Early life

D'Aeth was born in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, the son of Walter D'Aeth and Marion Turnbull. He was educated at Bedford School and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. At Emmanuel, he was a scholar and took a first class Honours degree in Natural Science before completing his PhD.''Who's Who 2007'' (London, A. & C. Black, 2007)

Career

D'Aeth's first job was as a schoolmaster at Gresham's School in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, from 1938 to 1940, after which he served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. In 1946 he was appointed one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools. In 1952 he took up an appointment as the Professor of Education at the

University College of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

and in 1958 returned to the United Kingdom as the first full Professor of Education at the young

Exeter University , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

, where he remained until a merger with St Luke's College in 1978 created a new School of Education. He was then appointed as President of

Hughes Hall, Cambridge Hughes Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. It is the oldest of the University of Cambridge's postgraduate colleges. The college also admits undergraduates, though undergraduates admitted by the college must b ...

, where he remained for six years. He was also a Commonwealth Fellow at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and retired to Stoke Gabriel, near

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and abo ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

in 1984.

Publications

D'Aeth's most significant publication was his ''Education and Development in the Third World'' (Farnborough, UK: Saxon House Press; Lexington, Mass: Lexington Books, 1975).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Aeth, Richard Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Fellows of Hughes Hall, Cambridge Harvard University faculty Academics of the University of Exeter British educational theorists People educated at Bedford School People from Vancouver 1912 births 2008 deaths University of the West Indies academics Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force airmen Canadian military personnel from British Columbia