THOMAS, D.O. 1924-2005

(David Oswald Thomas)

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born March 4, 1924, in Rhuthun, Denbighshire, Wales; died May 28, 2005, in Aberystwyth, Wales. Philosopher, educator, and author. A retired philosophy professor at the University College of Wales in Aberystwyth, Thomas was a leading authority on the works and thought of eighteenth-century philosopher Richard Price. While still a teenager, he worked for the Midland Bank from 1941 to 1943, and later joined the Royal Air Force. After serving in the Middle East during World War II, he returned to England and attended the University College of North Wales, earning a B.A. in 1950 and an M.A. in 1952. He then went on to complete his Ph.D. at Bedford College in 1956. Thomas entered academia as a tutor in philosophy and psychology at Coleg Harlech in 1955, before joining the faculty at Aberystwyth in 1960. It was here that he would spend the remainder of his career, including working as a reader in philosophy from 1978 until his early retirement in 1985. Highly interested in fellow Welshman Richard Price, the philosopher became the subject of many of Thomas's publications. These included Richard Price and America (1975), The Honest Mind: The Thought and Work of Richard Price (1977), and the coauthored A Bibliography of the Works of Richard Price (1993), among other books. In addition to this, Thomas was also founder and coeditor of the Price-Priestly Newsletter, which eventually became the journal Enlightenment and Dissent. He stepped down as editor in 1996, but remained active on the editorial board thereafter.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Independent (London, England), June 17, 2005, p. 45.