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 Friday16:00-16:30
Sunday20:30-21:00(rpt)
Radio 4's weekly obituaries programme |
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Contact us |
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This week |
Friday30th March 2007
(Rpt) Sunday1st April |
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Alexander King
Scientist, Civil Servant, and Environmentalist who has died aged 98.
One obituary describes Alexander King simply as “a global thinker”. He was a chemist by background but became fascinated by the application of science in society and the implications of economic growth for the environment. He was regularly called upon to advise governments and international organisations. During the Second World War Alexander King spotted the potential for the use of DDT to fight malaria in humans, saving the lives of thousands of allied troops. After the war he became Director General of the OECD – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
In the 1960s he teamed up with the head of Fiat, Aurelio Peccei to found a global think tank called the Club of Rome. One of their most controversial reports was called the Limits of Growth – warning of the environmental dangers of unlimited economic growth. As early as the 1970s Alexander King was raising the environmental issues which are now so widely accepted. Then his theories were extremely controversial.
Matthew Bannister talks to Club of Rome member Dr Michaela Smith and to Alexander King’s grandson Robert Shannan Peckham.
Alexander King was born January 26th 1909. He died February 28th 2007. |
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Mao Anqing
Last known surviving son of Mao Tse-Tung who has died aged 84.
To be a child of China’s revolutionary leader Chairman Mao Tse Tung was to live a troubled life. The Chairman married four times and had numerous affairs. With his second wife, Mao had three sons, with his third and fourth a daughter each. There may have been other undocumented children. Now the last of Mao’s known surviving sons has died at the age of 84.
Mao Anqing lived on the fringes of the party’s propaganda machine, translating books and documents from Russian into Chinese. He was mentally ill and spent much of his life in psychiatric hospitals. The Chairman himself took little or no interest in his son. Anqing’s mother was abandoned by Chairman Mao and executed by the nationalists. At the age of seven Anqing was forced into hiding with his brothers.
Matthew Bannister talks to Jung Chang, co-author of Mao the Unknown Story.
Mao Anqing was born November2nd 1923. He died March 23rd2007. |
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David Mendel
Cardiologist and writerwho has diedaged 85.
David Mendel could truly be described as a polymath. The distinguished cardiologist was noted for singing to calm patients who were nervous about undergoing surgery. He enjoyed sailing and windsurfing, took up the flute at the age of 52, made his own furniture and silverware and later in life became an expert on Italian culture.
David wrote a leading textbook on cardiac catheterisation and some words of advice to medical students under the title “Proper Doctoring”. David Mendel was born into a Jewish family living in East London. After military service in the Second World War, he applied to become a medical student at St Barts Hospital in London. When the medical school was evacuated to Cambridge, David took advantage of the opportunity to attend lectures on many different subjects including literature and art.
Matthew Bannister talks to Tyrrell Burgess, a life long friend and to Diego Zancani with whom he studied Italian at Kent University.
David Mendel was born London March 4th 1922. He died London March10th2007. |
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John Backus
Computer scientist who has died aged
John Backus said he invented the revolutionary computer language Fortran because he was lazy. He hated the cumbersome process of hand coding strings of digits to trigger actions in the machines. The new Fortran language completely changed the way that people interacted with computers and paved the way for modern software. John Backus’ “profound influential and lasting contribution” to the industry was recognised with a prestigious Turing Award in 1977.
Matthew Bannister talks to computer programmer Jim Horning and IBM Fellow Fran Alan.
John Warner Backus born December 3rd 1924. He died March 17th 2007.
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