James Fitzjames Duff

Sir James Fitzjames Duff (1 February 1898 – 24 April 1970) was an English academic and Vice-chancellor of Durham University.[1][2]

The son of James Duff Duff, he was educated at Winchester College then (after serving in the Royal Flying Corps from 1916–1917) at Trinity College, Cambridge.[1][3] In the 1920s, he conducted pioneering research with Godfrey Thomson on the relationship between IQ and social class, now regarded as controversial.[4] He was Professor of Education at the University of Manchester from 1932 to 1937, then Warden of Durham University[lower-alpha 1] from 1937 until 1960. During this time, he held the position of Vice‑chancellor for 6 periods of two years, in alternation with the Rector of King's College, Newcastle.[6]

Duff was a member of several commissions and enquiries, including the Asquith Commission on Higher Education in the Colonies (1943–1945), the Elliot Commission on Higher Education in West Africa (1943–1944), and the University Education Commission of India (1948–1949).[2][7]

He was a member and interim Chairman[lower-alpha 2] of the Board of Governors of the BBC from 1959 to 1965, Mayor of Durham City from 1959 to 1960, and Lord Lieutenant of Durham from 1964 to 1970.

Duff was knighted in 1949. He never married, and died in Dublin on 24 April 1970, aged 72.[1][2]

Publications
  • Duff, James F.; Thomson, Godfrey H. (1923). "The Social and Geographical Distribution of Intelligence in Northumberland". British Journal of Psychology. 14 (2): 192–198. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1923.tb00126.x.

Notes
  1. Strictly speaking, his official title was "Warden of the Durham Colleges"[5]
  2. When Sir Arthur fforde resigned as Chairman of the BBC in January 1964, Duff took over the role until the appointment of Lord Normanbrook in May of the same year.[1]

References
  1. "Obituary – Sir James Duff, Former Vice-Chancellor of Durham and BBC Governor". The Times. No. 57854. London. 27 April 1970. p. 10.
  2. Batho, G. R. (6 January 2011). "Duff, Sir James Fitzjames (1898–1970)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32919. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  3. A Historical Register of the University of Cambridge, Supplement, 1921–30. Cambridge: The University Press. 1932. p. 302 – via Internet Archive.
  4. Charlton, Bruce G. (2008). "Pioneering studies of IQ by G.H. Thomson and J.F. Duff– An example of established knowledge subsequently 'hidden in plain sight'". Medical Hypotheses. 71 (5): 625–628. doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2008.07.026. ISSN 0306-9877. PMID 18682316. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  5. "The New Constitution". Durham University Journal. Durham University. 30 (4): 321. 1937. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  6. "Durham University Records: Central Administration and Officers – Vice-Chancellor and Warden". Durham University. GB-0033-UND/CE. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  7. Ankit, Rakesh (2015). "J F Duff and the University Education Commission of India, 1948–49". Economic and Political Weekly. 50 (33): 67–71. JSTOR 24482412. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via JSTOR.


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