George Richardson Obituary
George Richardson, my late friend, lived a long and illustrious life until he passed away at the age of 94. The majority of his career was spent at Oxford University, where he eventually rose to the position of chief executive of Oxford University Press (OUP) in the mid-1970s and held it until the late 80s.
Christina and George, a homemaker and a businessman, respectively, were his parents when he was born in Cricklewood, North London. He attended Banff grammar and Aberdeen central schools and studied mathematics and physics at Aberdeen University before joining the Admiralty’s scientific research department in London during World War II.
After the war, he went back to university at Oxford’s Corpus Christi College, where he obtained a second degree in philosophy, politics, and economics. George worked briefly at the Foreign Office before becoming a fellow at St John’s College, where he was well-liked for his enthusiastic teaching, collegiality, and advocating for change and reform within the college.
In 1974, George was appointed chief executive of the OUP, where he transformed it into a resilient organization capable of weathering tumultuous economic times, thanks to his impressive leadership abilities.
After he retired from OUP in 1988, he became the warden of Keble College, an exciting period of the college which he shepherded with the establishment of a unified governing body and the laying of a foundation for its future development.
George’s intellectual and cultural reach was vast. He always welcomed people of all ages and backgrounds and treated everyone with utmost cordiality, a generosity of soul that endeared him to many. His kindness, wit, charm, and compassion never wavered.
George was married to Isabel Chalk, and their marriage ended in a divorce in the early 1990s. He leaves behind two sons, Graham and Andrew, and four grandchildren.
