Neville_Richard_Murphy

Neville Richard Murphy

Neville Richard Murphy

British classicist (1890–1971)


Neville Richard Murphy[1] (3 March 1890 – 15 July 1971)[2] was Principal of Hertford College, Oxford from 1939 to 1959.

Life and career

Murphy was educated at Christ's Hospital and Brasenose College, Oxford. During World War I he served as an officer in the Royal Irish Fusiliers. A classicist and horologist,[3] he was a fellow and tutor at Hertford College, Oxford, from 1919 to 1939, and Principal of Hertford from 1939[4] to 1959.[5]

The official history of Oxford University uses Murphy as an example of an eccentric don: he was known as the "undisclosed principal" because of his reticence and for repairing watches for undergraduates better than the college porter.[3]

His book, The Interpretation of Plato's Republic, was published by Oxford University Press in 1951.[6]

His portrait by Stanley Spencer hangs in the Senior Common Room at Hertford College.[7]

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References

  1. "Obituary Mr Neville Murphy" The Times Friday, July 16, 1971 Issue 58226 p.14
  2. The History of the University of Oxford: Volume VIII: The Twentieth Century. Oxford University Press. 7 April 1994. ISBN 9780198229742. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  3. "Principal Of Hertford College" The Times Tuesday, Oct. 24, 1939 Issue 48444 p.6
  4. The interpretation of Plato's Republic. 1951. OCLC 761500. Retrieved 7 September 2020 via WorldCat.
  5. Kennedy, Maev (21 September 2014). "'Dead white men' make way for women at Oxford". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 September 2020.



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