John Bryan HAINSWORTH

I had the great good fortune to be a student of Bryan's at New College. What set him apart as a tutor was that he let you discover the subject for yourself and make it your own. That is a rare quality.

Bryan and I remarkably while students at Bradford Grammar School in 1949 both received word we had been awarded Open Exhibitions at New College, Oxford (History for me, Classics, of course, for Bryan). We went up in October 1951. Everyone thought we were brothers. We were in fact not related and barely knew each other. However for the past fifty years our names have always been one above the other in university libraries around the world! I remember him very well and followed his career with interest and mourn his passing.No doubt (since I am now, 2019, 88 I shall soon be joining him! Roger Hainsworth,MA, PhD, formerly Reader in History, Adelaide University.

I have only recently learned the very sad news of Dr Hainsworth's passing. He was my Classics tutor at New College from 1985 to 1989 and I enjoyed learning with him very much. Our tutorials were as amusing as they were educational. He helped me achieve, against all probability (due to extra-curricular activities...), a 2.i with an astonishing A grade for my Poetry of Horace paper (I had really struggled with Horace!) and wrote a lovely letter congratulating me on the result. More recently, he commissioned my mother Helen Anderson, to paint his portrait in oils. I post it here as a tribute to a kind, witty and fascinating man, as well as a most learned scholar.

Ricorderò sempre Bryan Hainsworth, studioso acutissimo di Omero, uomo affabile e gentile, da cui ho imparato moltissimo. I suoi lavori sono molto citati dagli studiosi, ma raramente se ne è colto la grande portata scientifica. Essi infatti sono scritti in una prosa impegnativa, che richiede attenzione e pazienza. Ma chi faccia lo sforzo di penetrarli, può cogliere la profondità e la grande importanza delle sue intuizioni. Tutti gli omeristi comunque hanno ammirato la robustezza della sua dottrina e la sua capacità di andare al cuore dei problemi. Grazie, Bryan, per tutto quello che ci hai insegnato.