Sir James Fitzjames Duff (1 February 1898 – 24 April 1970) was an English academic and Vice-chancellor of

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

. The son of James Duff Duff, he was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

then (after serving in the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

from 1916–1917) at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. In the 1920s, he conducted pioneering research with

Godfrey Thomson Sir Godfrey Hilton Thomson FRSE DCL (27 March 1881 – 9 February 1955) was an English educational psychologist known as a critical pioneer in intelligence research. The Godfrey Thomson Unit for Research at Moray College in Edinburgh is name ...

on the relationship between IQ and

social class A social class or social stratum is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the working class and the Bourgeoisie, capitalist class. Membership of a social class can for exam ...

, now regarded as controversial. He was Professor of Education at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

from 1932 to 1937, then Warden of Durham University from 1937 until 1960. During this time, he held the position of Vicechancellor for 6 periods of two years, in alternation with the Rector of

King's College, Newcastle Kings or King's may refer to: *Kings: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations. *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'', an 11th-century epic Persia ...

. Duff was a member of several commissions and enquiries, including the Asquith Commission on Higher Education in the Colonies (1943–1945), the Elliot Commission on Higher Education in West Africa (1943–1944), and the University Education Commission of India (1948–1949). He was a member and interim

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the Board of Governors of the BBC from 1959 to 1965,

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Durham City from 1959 to 1960, and

Lord Lieutenant of Durham This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Durham. Lord lieutenants *Henry Neville, 5th Earl of Westmorland 1552–? * Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon 2 August 1586 – 1595 *''vacant'' * Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Som ...

from 1964 to 1970. Duff was

knighted 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 ...

in 1949. He never married, and died in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

on 24 April 1970, aged 72.

Publications

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Notes

References

1898 births 1970 deaths People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Academics of the Victoria University of Manchester Knights Bachelor Lord-lieutenants of Durham Vice-chancellors and wardens of Durham University {{DurhamU-stub