Professor Philip Ford
With great regret the Department of French has to report the recent death of Professor Philip Ford, at the age of 64, after a short illness. Professor Ford was the longest-standing current member of the French Department, having first been appointed in 1982. He was an outstanding scholar of sixteenth-century literature in both French and Neo-Latin: he published monographs on Ronsard and on the reception of Homer in France and editions of the great Scottish Neo-Latin author George Buchanan and the playwright Alexandre Hardy. His final book The Judgement of Palaemon: The Contest between Neo-Latin and Vernacular Poetry in Renaissance France was published just before his death. A Fellow of Clare, he was an inspiring teacher and postgraduate supervisor, as many generations of students can witness. He was also a selfless and effective contributor to the activities of the Department, the Faculty, and the University, willing to take on the most demanding responsibilities. He organized the very successful conference series Cambridge French Colloquia and was a leading member of numerous international learned societies. He was a Fellow of the British Academy, an Officier in the Ordre des Palmes Académiques and an Associate Fellow of the Académie Royale de Belgique. His academic distinction was matched by his immense kindness and generosity. His loss is very severely felt by all who knew him.
Photograph courtesy of Mr Rowan Kitt, Clare College, Cambridge
