Emeritus Fellow, Professor Alan Jones

It is with great sadness that the College has learned of the death of Emeritus Fellow Professor Alan Jones.

Alan moved to Oxford in 1955 to study Turkish, having read Classics, Arabic and Persian at Cambridge. Two years later, he was appointed lecturer in Turkish and Islamic Studies, eventually focusing most of his time on Arabic.

He was very much involved with the establishment of both Wolfson and St Cross Colleges, becoming a Fellow of the latter, as well as Vice-Master and Senior Tutor between 1965 and 1980. Alan joined Pembroke in 1980 as our first Tutorial Fellow in Arabic, and remained here until his retirement in 2000.

Professor Jones’ impact on the College was considerable. He was responsible for Pembroke taking a significant portion of Oxford’s undergraduates in Arabic; he successfully handled negotiations that led to a Tutorial Fellowship for Japanese, making Pembroke the only undergraduate college with three orientalist fellows (Chinese being the third); and he was Senior Tutor at least twice.

Alongside his work in the College, Alan served the University on the General Board, was Chairman of the Oriental Faculty Board and of the University’s Computing Services Committee, and was Vice-Chairman of the governing body of the Hebrew Centre at Yarnton. 

In a speech at his retirement, James McMullen commented that ‘Alan has been passionately loyal in his service of both University and College. He has brought a special combination of energy, intensity and a high sense of justice, together with great warmth, resilience and humour.’

A leading scholar in Quranic Studies and in pre-Islamic and early Islamic Arabic, he authored numerous books, producing ground-breaking work on the language and history of the Qur’an as well as editions and translations of pre-Islamic poetry. His linguistic skills extended to several other languages, enabling his later study of the stanzaic poetry of Muslim Spain.

Alan is remembered for his vast scholarly achievement, his humour, and his kindness.  He remained connected to the College throughout his retirement, attending events, offering advice and staying in touch with many of his former students directly. He will be much missed by the Pembroke community.