Sir John Ashworth (27 November 1938 – 3 March 2025) was a British biochemist and

educationalist Education sciences, also known as education studies or education theory, and traditionally called ''pedagogy'', seek to describe, understand, and prescribe education including education policy. Subfields include comparative education, educationa ...

Early life and education

Ashworth was born on 27 November 1938. He was educated at

West Buckland School West Buckland School is a private co-educational day and boarding school in West Buckland, Devon in the English public school tradition. It comprises a senior school, preparatory school, and a nursery. It is a relatively high performing sch ...

and

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

. Ashworth obtained a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

degree in biochemistry at

Leicester University The University of Leicester ( ) is a public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, University College, Leicester, gained university ...

and was a lecturer and reader there before taking up a post of foundation Professor of

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

in 1974. His scientific research at the time focused on

developmental biology Developmental biology is the study of the process by which animals and plants grow and develop. Developmental biology also encompasses the biology of Regeneration (biology), regeneration, asexual reproduction, metamorphosis, and the growth and di ...

and

cell differentiation Cellular differentiation is the process in which a stem cell changes from one type to a differentiated one. Usually, the cell changes to a more specialized type. Differentiation happens multiple times during the development of a multicellular ...

, with a particular interest in the

slime mold Slime mold or slime mould is an informal name given to a polyphyletic assemblage of unrelated eukaryotic organisms in the Stramenopiles, Rhizaria, Discoba, Amoebozoa and Holomycota clades. Most are near-microscopic; those in the Myxogastria ...

Career

Ashworth joined the

UK government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

in 1976, where he acted as the chief scientific adviser to the government, initially on secondment, and then as an

undersecretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is a ...

in the Cabinet Office from 1979 to 1981. He became vice-chancellor at the

University of Salford The University of Salford is a Public university, public research university in Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester city centre. The Royal Technical Institute, Salford, which opened in 1896, be ...

from 1981 to 1990, and then director of the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

from 1990 to 1996. Ashworth was a chairman of the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

board 1996–2001, the

Institute of Cancer Research The Institute of Cancer Research (the ICR) is a public research institute and a member institution of the University of London in London, United Kingdom, specialising in oncology. It was founded in 1909 as a research department of the Royal Ma ...

(deputy chairman) 2003–07, and Barts and the London NHS Trust 2003–07. Ashworth was a governor of the

Ditchley Foundation The Ditchley Foundation is a foundation that holds conferences, with a primary focus on British-American relations. Based at Ditchley Park near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, it was established as a privately funded charity in 1958 by philanthr ...

and also chairman of the board of trustees at

Richmond, The American International University in London Richmond American University London is a private university in London, United Kingdom. Richmond was founded in 1972, by British educator Cyril Taylor. The university awards US degrees from the American state of Delaware, where Richmond is ac ...

, a private liberal arts and professional studies university based in

Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in south-west Greater London, London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London boroughs, London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller ...

and

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

Personal life and death

Ashworth married

Auriol Stevens Auriol Hazel Dawn Stevens (born 4 November 1940) is a British journalist, and former editor of the '' Times Higher Education Supplement'', the leading national publication for UK universities. Early life She was the daughter of Captain Barry St ...

on 23 July 1988. He died on 3 March 2025, at the age of 86.Sir John Ashworth
Gazette News

Honours

Ashworth was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Leicester in 2005. He retired in 2007, and was awarded a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

for public services in the Queen's New Year Honours list 2008. He was made an Honorary Fellow of

in 1983.

References

External links

Newsquest Essex Network

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashworth, John 1938 births 2025 deaths English biochemists English educational theorists Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Alumni of the University of Leicester People associated with the London School of Economics Knights Bachelor People educated at West Buckland School Chief Scientific Advisers to HM Government Vice-chancellors of the University of Salford Honorary Fellows of the London School of Economics