Sir William Eric Kinloch Anderson (27 May 1936 – 22 April 2020) was a British teacher and educator, who was head master of Eton College from 1980 to 1994 and provost of Eton College from September 2000 to January 2009.

Life and career

Anderson was born on 27 May 1936 and schooled at George Watson's College, Edinburgh. He graduated from the University of St Andrews with first-class honours in English language and literature and then a Master of Letters (MLitt) degree from Balliol College, University of Oxford. During his early career, Anderson taught at Fettes College in Edinburgh and at Gordonstoun where he taught

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

. He moved to be headmaster at

Abingdon School Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...

(1970–75), Shrewsbury School (1975–80) and Eton College (1980–94) and he was rector of

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...

(1994–2000). He was chairman of the Heritage Lottery Fund (1998–2001) and provost of Eton College (2000–2009). At Fettes, he was Prime Minister Tony Blair's housemaster. Blair subsequently named Anderson in a 1997 advertising campaign run by the

Teacher Training Agency A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. wh ...

, entitled "No one forgets a good teacher". Head Master of Eton while

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

and Boris Johnson were there, Anderson was involved in the education of the heir to the British throne and three British prime ministers, as well as Rory Stewart, Justin Welby,

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, the Olympic oarsman Matthew Pinsent and the actors Dominic West and Damian Lewis. He was a supporter of the direct grant system. The Clarendon Press published Anderson's edition of '' The Journal of Sir Walter Scott'' in 1972 and he became a trustee of Scott's Abbotsford during its refurbishment. He was elected a fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

in 1985 and, in 2002, he was appointed a Knight of the

Order of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order. The ...

. He retired as provost of Eton on 30 January 2009, and was succeeded by William Waldegrave. His other positions included

visitor A visitor, in English and Welsh law and history, is an overseer of an autonomous ecclesiastical or eleemosynary institution, often a charitable institution set up for the perpetual distribution of the founder's alms and bounty, who can interve ...

at Harris Manchester College, Oxford; member of the visiting committee of Harvard University Memorial Church; trustee of the

Royal Collection Trust The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...

; and chairman of

Cumberland Lodge Cumberland Lodge is a 17th-century Grade II listed country house in Windsor Great Park 3.5 miles south of Windsor Castle. Since 1947 it has been occupied by the charitable foundation known as Cumberland Lodge, which holds residential conferences ...

. He received honorary degrees from the University of St Andrews, Hull, Siena, Birmingham, the University of Aberdeen and Buckingham.

Personal life

Anderson was the son of William James Kinloch Anderson, proprietor of the Edinburgh-based kilt-making business Kinloch Anderson, and Margaret Gouinlock Harper. He was married to Elizabeth ("Poppy") Anderson, daughter of William and Mary Mason of Skipton. Their son is

David Anderson David Anderson may refer to: People In academia or science *David Anderson (academic) (born 1952), American college professor *David Anderson (engineer) (1880–1953), Scottish civil engineer and lawyer *David Anderson, 2nd Viscount Waverley (1911� ...

(Lord Anderson of Ipswich KBE QC) and their daughter Kate is married to

Will Gompertz William Edward Gompertz (born 25 August 1965) was the BBC's arts editor before moving to a position as the Barbican Centre’s Artistic Director from 1 June 2021. Gompertz attended Dulwich Preparatory School, in Cranbrook, Kent. Gompertz was p ...

. He was an honorary Old Abingdonian and in 2018 accompanied Poppy, Kate and Will Gompertz, to open Beech Court at Abingdon School. Anderson died on 22 April 2020 at the age of 83, two days after his 60th wedding anniversary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Eric Alumni of the University of St Andrews Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford People educated at George Watson's College Scottish schoolteachers Fellows of Lincoln College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Knights of the Thistle Headmasters of Shrewsbury School Rectors of Lincoln College, Oxford Head Masters of Eton College Heads of Abingdon School 1936 births 2020 deaths Provosts of Eton College

Life and career

Personal life

See also

References