Timothy Robin Radford (9 October 1940 – 10 February 2025) was a British journalist who was the science editor for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' newspaper from 1980 to 2005.

Early life

Timothy Robin Radford was born in Rawene, New Zealand, on 9 October 1940, and grew up in Devonport, near

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. He was educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland. At 16, he joined ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...

'' as a reporter. He moved to the United Kingdom in 1961, where he worked for ''Fishing News'', followed by jobs on local newspapers. He then had a stint as a civil servant, working at first as a

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

information officer, and subsequently working in journalism, notably for ''

'' newspaper, as well as being a contributor to other publications including ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal, founded in England in 1823. It is one of the world's highest-impact academic journals and also one of the oldest medical journals still in publication. The journal publishes ...

'', ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a popular science magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organ ...

'' and ''

The London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of Boo ...

''.

Career

Radford worked for ''

'' for 32 years. Over the course of his career, he was letters editor, arts editor, literary editor, and science editor — holding the last post from 1980 until 2005. Radford became increasingly interested in climate change and wrote his first book ''The Crisis of Life on Earth'' in 1990. He also served on the UK committee for the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. In 2011 he co-founded the Climate News Network website.

Personal life and death

In 1964, Radford married Maureen Coveney. They had two children, William and Stella, and were married until Maureen's death in 2024. Radford died on 10 February 2025, in Eastbourne, UK at the age of 84.

Awards

Radford won four Association of British Science Writers awards: * Lifetime achievement award for services to science journalism, 2004 * Best feature on science subject in a national or regional newspaper, 2004, for ''Touching the Void'', published in The Guardian on 22 July 2004 * Best communication of science in a non-science context, 2001, for ''Tell us, Solly'', published in the London Review of Books on 20 September 2001 * Other awards in 1992 and 1997

References

Bibliography

* ''The Consolations of Physics: Why the Wonders of the Universe can make you Happy'' (2018), 192 pages, Sceptre (August 2018), Paperback * ''The Address Book: Our Place in the Scheme of Things'' (2009), 224 pages, Fourth Estate (April 2011), Paperback ; Hardback * ''The Crisis of Life on Earth: Our Legacy from the Second Millennium'' (1990), 224 pages, Thorsons (October 1990), Hardback {{DEFAULTSORT:Radford, Tim 1940 births 2025 deaths 20th-century British journalists 21st-century British journalists British male journalists The Guardian journalists New Zealand expatriates in England People educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland People from North Shore, New Zealand