The Waynflete Professorships are four professorial fellowships at the University of Oxford endowed by Magdalen College and named in honour of the college founder

William of Waynflete William Waynflete (11 August 1486), born William Patten, was Provost of Eton College (1442–1447), Bishop of Winchester (1447–1486) and Lord Chancellor of England (1456–1460). He founded Magdalen College, Oxford and three subsidiary scho ...

, who had a great interest in science. These professorships are statutory professorships of the University, that is, they are professorships established in the university's regulations, and which are by those regulations attached to Magdalen College in particular. The oldest professorship is the Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy. The three science professorships were created following the recommendation of the University Commission in 1857, in recognition of William of Waynflete's lifetime support of science. The professorships are the Waynflete Professor of Chemistry, the Waynflete Professor of Physiology, and the Waynflete Professor of Pure Mathematics.

Waynflete Professors of Metaphysical Philosophy

This Waynflete Professorship is one of five statutory professorships in philosophy at the University of Oxford, the other four being the

Wykeham Professor The University of Oxford has three statutory professorships named after William of Wykeham, who founded New College. Logic The Wykeham Professorship in Logic was established in 1859, although it was not known as the Wykeham chair until later. I ...

ship in Logic, the

White’s Professor The White's Chair of Moral Philosophy was endowed in 1621 by Thomas White (c. 1550–1624), Canon of Christ Church as the oldest professorial post in philosophy at the University of Oxford. In 2021, the chair was renamed the Sekyra and White’s ...

ship of Moral Philosophy, the Wilde Professor of Mental Philosophy, as well as the untitled professorship in Ancient Philosophy. ''Currently incomplete'' *1859–1867 Henry Longueville Mansel *1867–1889 Henry William Chandler *1889–1910

Thomas Case Thomas Case (1598–30 May 1682) was an English clergyman of Presbyterian beliefs, a member of the Westminster Assembly, where he was one of the strongest advocates of Christian government. Although earlier a strong defender of the Parliamentary ...

*1910–1936

John Alexander Smith John Alexander Smith (21 April 1863 – 19 December 1939) was a British idealist philosopher, who was the Jowett Lecturer of philosophy at Balliol College, Oxford from 1896 to 1910, and Waynflete Professor of Moral and Metaphysical Philosoph ...

*1936–1941 Robin G. Collingwood *1945–1967 Gilbert Ryle *1968–1987

P. F. Strawson Peter Frederick Strawson (; 23 November 1919 – 13 February 2006) was an English philosopher. He was the Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy at the University of Oxford (Magdalen College) from 1968 to 1987. Before that, he w ...

*1989–2000 Christopher Peacocke *2003–2006 Dorothy Edgington *2006–2015 John Hawthorne *2016–

Ofra Magidor Ofra Magidor is a philosopher and logician, and current Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy at University of Oxford and Fellow of Magdalen College. Biography Magidor received her BSc in mathematics, philosophy, and computer scienc ...

Waynflete Professors of Chemistry

The four heads of the

Dyson Perrins Laboratory The Dyson Perrins Laboratory is in the science area of the University of Oxford and was the main centre for research into organic chemistry of the University from its foundation in 1916 until its closure as a research laboratory in 2003. Until 2 ...

were four consecutive Waynflete Professors of Chemistry, from its foundation in 1916 as the University's research centre for organic chemistry to its relocation in 2003. *1865–1872 Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet *1872–1912 William Odling *1912–1930

William Henry Perkin, Jr. William Henry Perkin Jr., FRS FRSE (17 June 1860 – 17 September 1929) was an English organic chemist who was primarily known for his groundbreaking research work on the degradation of naturally occurring organic compounds. Early life He was ...

, first head of

; *1930–1954 Sir Robert Robinson *1954–1978

Ewart Jones Sir Ewart Ray Herbert Jones FRS (16 March 1911 – 7 May 2002) was a Welsh organic chemist and academic administrator, whose fields of expertise led him to discoveries into the chemistry of natural products, mainly steroids, terpenes and vitami ...

*1978–2005 Sir Jack Baldwin, last head of

; *2006–2021

Stephen G. Davies Stephen Graham Davies (born 24 February 1950) is a British chemist and was, until his retirement, the Waynflete Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford. Education Davies obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1973 from New Coll ...

, ex-Chairman of Chemistry. *2022– Véronique Gouverneur, from 1st November

Waynflete Professors of Physiology

*1882–1905 John Scott Burdon-Sanderson *1905–1913

Francis Gotch Francis Gotch (13 July 1853 – 15 July 1913) was a British neurophysiologist who was professor of physiology at University College Liverpool and Oxford University. He was educated at Amersham Hall School and then at London University graduati ...

*1913–1935

Charles Scott Sherrington Sir Charles Scott Sherrington (27 November 1857 – 4 March 1952) was an eminent English neurophysiologist. His experimental research established many aspects of contemporary neuroscience, including the concept of the spinal reflex as a system ...

*1936–1939

John Mellanby John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

*1940–1960

Edward George Tandy Liddell Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...

*1960–1967 George Lindor Brown *1968–1979

David Whitteridge David Whitteridge FRS FRSE FRCP (1912–1994) was a 20th-century British physician and physiologist. Also an electrophysiologist, he was one of the first to demonstrate point to point relationship between nerve endings and specific points of a ...

*1979–2007

Colin Blakemore Sir Colin Blakemore, , Hon (1 June 1944 – 27 June 2022) was a British neurobiologist, specialising in vision and the development of the brain. He was Yeung Kin Man Professor of Neuroscience and senior fellow of the Hong Kong Institute for Adv ...

*2007–

Gero Miesenböck Gero Andreas Miesenböck (born 15 July 1965) is an Austrian scientist. He is currently Waynflete Professor of Physiology and Director of the Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour (CNCB) at the University of Oxford and a fellow of Magdalen C ...

Waynflete Professors of Pure Mathematics

*1892–1921 Edwin Bailey Elliott *1922–1945

Arthur Lee Dixon Arthur Lee Dixon FRS (27 November 1867 — 20 February 1955) was a British mathematician and holder of the Waynflete Professorship of Pure Mathematics at the University of Oxford. Early life and education Dixon was born on 27 November 1867 in ...

*1947–1960

J. H. C. Whitehead John Henry Constantine Whitehead FRS (11 November 1904 – 8 May 1960), known as Henry, was a British mathematician and was one of the founders of homotopy theory. He was born in Chennai (then known as Madras), in India, and died in Princeton, ...

*1960–1984 Graham Higman *1984–2006 Daniel Quillen *2007–2013

Raphaël Rouquier Raphaël Alexis Marcel Rouquier (born 9 December 1969) is a French mathematician and a professor of mathematics at UCLA. Education Rouquier was born in Étampes, France. Rouquier studied at the École Normale Supérieure from 1988 to 1989 a ...

*2013– Ben Green

Notes

{{Reflist 1857 establishments in England Professorships at the University of Oxford Magdalen College, Oxford Lists of people associated with the University of Oxford