Logic List Mailing Archive

John Shepherdson (1920-2014)

> From: Philip Welch <p.welch@bristol.ac.uk>
> Date: January 11, 2015 at 11:31:58 AM PST

John Shepherdson (1920 - 2014)

I deeply regret having to impart the very sad news that John Shepherdson 
died in Bristol on Thursday of an inoperable sarcoma.

John was a founder of the BLC (together with Robin Gandy if I remember 
rightly). Hiis own work was in many areas, starting with set theory, then 
recursion theory, (inventing the Register machine in a paper with 
Sturgis), models of arithmetic, incompleteness phenomena, and towards the 
end of his career working on PROLOG and fuzzy logic.  Besides all this he 
made Bristol a centre for mathematical logic in the UK, with many 
prestigious visitors in the early years. In particular it became a 
training ground in the 50's, 60?s for many who went on to academic 
careers, as well as in the 70's through its MSc in Mathematical Logic and 
Theory of Computation. He spent his whole working career at the Bristol 
department arriving there in 1946.

He always struck me as an exceptionally kind person, an amusing and 
intelligent companion to be with, and most modest, as well as 
self-effacing in the best sense. He will be much missed.

A fuller appreciation will be composed at some point. There will be no 
funeral, but his family have indicated there will be a Memorial Service or 
Occasion at a date in the future, when a full tribute can be paid to him.

Philip Welch