Trevor West

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Trevor West
West in 2005
Senator
In office
May 1982 – February 1983
In office
November 1970 – October 1981
ConstituencyDublin University
Personal details
Born
Timothy Trevor West

(1938-05-08)8 May 1938
County Cork, Ireland
Died30 October 2012(2012-10-30) (aged 74)
County Cork, Ireland
Political partyIndependent
Spouse
Maura Lee
(m. 1995)
Education
Alma mater

Timothy Trevor West (8 May 1938 – 30 October 2012)[1] was an Irish mathematician, academic and politician.[2]

Biography

He was born on 8 May 1938 in County Cork, the eldest of four sons of Timothy Roberts West, headmaster of Midleton College, and Dorothy Trevor West (née McNeill).[3]

He was educated at Midleton College,

elected a scholar, and of the University of Cambridge.[5] In 1970 he was elected a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin and was also an associate professor of mathematics, Junior Dean, and a great supporter of sport at Trinity.[6] He was also a Member of the Royal Irish Academy.[4] He subsequently was a Senior Fellow of TCD.[7]

On 19 November 1970, West was elected to Seanad Éireann, at a by-election for the Dublin University constituency caused by the death of Owen Sheehy-Skeffington.[2] After his election, he established a reputation as one of the few liberal voices in the Seanad.[1] He was re-elected to the Seanad in 1973 and 1977, lost his seat at the 1981 Seanad election but was re-elected in 1982, then lost his seat again at the 1983 Seanad election.[2]

With John T. Lewis and D. McQuillan, West drew up the constitution of the Irish Mathematical Society.[8]

He was the author of The Bold Collegians, a history of sport in Trinity College,

tercentenary in 1996.[9]

Memorials

An event was held in his memory at the Royal Irish Academy in December 2013 where a memorial issue of the Mathematical Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy was presented.[10]

A book of essays celebrating his life, Trevor West : The Bold Collegian, was published in October 2016.[11]

On 14 September 2018, a new sports hall in Midleton College dedicated to the memory of Trevor West was opened by the Provost of Trinity College, Patrick Prendergast.[12]

Publications

  • Trevor West, with Rien Kaashoek, Locally compact semi-algebras : with applications to spectral theory of positive operators (Amsterdam; London: North-Holland Publishing Co., 1974)
  • Trevor West, The Bold Collegians. The Development of Sport in Trinity College Dublin (Dublin, 1991)
  • Trevor West, Midleton College, 1696–1996: A Tercentenary History (Midleton: Midleton College, 1996)

Further reading

  • Maura Lee West, ed., Trevor West: the Bold Collegian (The Lilliput Press, 2016), with contributions by

References

  1. ^ a b "Vigorous scholar, sportsman and senator". The Irish Times. 3 November 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "Timothy Trevor West". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  3. ^ Timoney, Richard M. "West, Trevor". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b "In Memoriam – Timothy Trevor West" (PDF). Dublin University Central Athletic Club. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  5. ^ "Funeral tomorrow of former TCD academic and senator". The Irish Times. 2 November 2012.
  6. ^ a b "The Bold Collegians". The Lilliput Press. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  7. ^ The University of Dublin Calendar 2000-01. 2000.
  8. ^ The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive page on The Irish Mathematical Society
  9. ^ Trevor West, Midleton College, 1696–1996: A Tercentenary History (Midleton, County Cork: Midleton College, 1996)
  10. ^ Trevor West: An Irish Mathematician Archived 2013-12-13 at archive.today
  11. ^ "Trevor West : The Bold Collegian". Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  12. ^ "Speech by Bishop Paul Colton on the occasion of the official opening of the Trevor West sports hall". churchofirelandcork.com. 16 September 2018.

External links