William Quarrier Kennedy, 30 November 1903 - 13 March 1979

William Quarrier Kennedy, one of the most farseeing geologists of this century, divided his professional service almost equally between the Geological Survey of Great Britain, of which he was a member from 1928 to 1945, and the University of Leeds where he occupied the Chair of Geology from 1945 to 1967. During most of his time with the Geological Survey, Kennedy worked in his native Scotland, but with his move to Leeds he was able to range farther afield, in particular into Africa. In that continent his remarkable ability to discern geological relations on a large scale, previously concealed by small scale complications, which had already led him to a series of major discoveries in Scotland, found ever wider scope. Quick to perceive, but with the patience to spend years marshalling evidence around a germinating idea, he had great clarity of mind and an exceptional memory. These qualities are reflected in his published work and in his successful leadership of the Research Institute of African Geology he founded at the University of Leeds in 1955 and which he directed until his retirement. A slim man of no more than average height Kennedy was always neatly dressed whether in the laboratory or in the field. This neatness was reflected in his work, for his office was well ordered as were his lectures, professional papers and geological maps. His charm of manner and sparkling intelligence won him friends throughout his career. The affection and esteem in which he was held by colleagues at Leeds, emerges particularly clearly in the bookAfrican magmatism and tectonicsbrought out in his honour after his retirement and which opens with an appreciation by R. M. Shackleton.