Hallard Croft

Hallard Croft
Born(1936-04-15)15 April 1936
Bromley, England
Died15 September 2025(2025-09-15) (aged 89)
EducationPeterhouse, Cambridge
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
WorkplacesUniversity of Cambridge
John Edensor Littlewood

Hallard Thomas Croft (15 April 1936 – 15 September 2025) was an English mathematician.

Life and career

Born in Bromley, he was educated at City of London School and earned a PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1961, under John Edensor Littlewood's supervision. A fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge, from 1963 to 2003, in 1967 he invented a geometric shape called Croft's Tortoise and in 1991 he co-authored Unsolved Problems in Geometry with Kenneth Falconer and Richard K. Guy.

Croft clashed with Hugh Trevor-Roper after the latter became Master of Peterhouse in 1980 when Croft was Director of Studies in mathematics and Senior Fellow; Croft's conservatism led him to deeply dislike Trevor-Roper, and the upshot was that he was re-elected as a Fellow in 1983 without his seniority. Friends suggested that Trevor-Roper disliked Croft because of his homosexuality.

References

  1. ↑ "Obituary Notices". Cambridge University Reporter. 24 September 2025. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Hallard Croft, flamboyant Cambridge don who waged war on Hugh Trevor-Roper at Peterhouse". Daily Telegraph (obituary). 21 November 2025. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  3. ↑ "Hallard T. Croft". Mathematics Genealogy Project. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  4. ↑ Croft, Hallard T.; Falconer, K. J.; Guy, Richard K. (1991). Unsolved Problems in Geometry. New York: Springer. ISBN 9780387975061.
  5. 1 2 "Hallard Croft obituary: Mathematician in Cambridge feud". The Times. 18 November 2025. Retrieved 18 November 2025. Trevor-Roper, who felt increasingly that his authority as master was being challenged by Croft and his allies, refused to renew his fellowship. Croft's friends suggested this action was motivated, in part at least, by hostility towards his homosexuality.