This site is dedicated to members of the Princeton University faculty who have passed away. We are grateful for their many contributions to Princeton. Recollections, memories, eulogies and information about service arrangements are invited and appreciated.
2024
Giacinto Scoles
Giacinto Scoles, Princeton’s Donner Professor of Science, Emeritus, died in Sassenheim, the Netherlands, on Sept. 25. He was 89 years old.
John Wilmerding
John Wilmerding, professor of art and archaeology, emeritus, died June 6 in New York City. He was 86.
Daniel Kahneman
Daniel Kahneman, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, professor of psychology and public affairs, emeritus, and a Nobel laureate in economics whose groundbreaking behavioral science research changed our understanding of how people think and decide, died on March 27. He was 90.
Arno Mayer
Arno Mayer, the Dayton-Stockton Professor of History, Emeritus, and an esteemed historian of modern Europe and diplomacy, died in a senior residence in Princeton, N.J. on Dec. 18, 2023. He was 97.
2023
Howard Francis Taylor
Howard Francis Taylor, an emeritus professor of sociology and a pioneering scholar on race and intelligence testing, died on March 21, 2023. He was 83.
Natalie Zemon Davis
Natalie Zemon Davis, the Henry Charles Lea Professor of History, Emeritus, and a social and cultural historian, died of cancer at her home in Toronto on Oct. 21, 2023. She was 94.
John Wilson
John Wilson, the Agate Brown and George L. Collord Professor of Religion, Emeritus, died of complications from COVID-19 on Oct. 5, 2023, at home in Peterborough, New Hampshire. He was 90.
Victor W. Laurie
Victor Laurie, professor of chemistry, emeritus, made numerous contributions to the field of microwave spectroscopy. He died on Sept. 13 at age 88.
William B. Russel
William B. Russel, a leading chemical engineer who had a lasting impact on graduate education as dean of the Graduate School at Princeton University, died on Sept. 24, 2023, in Princeton. He was 77.
Janet Martin
Janet Martin, associate professor of classics, emeritus, and an expert in medieval Latin, died of cardiovascular disease at home in Princeton, New Jersey, on Aug. 30, 2203. She was 84.
Joseph J. Kohn
Joseph Kohn, professor of mathematics, emeritus, a leader in the field of several complex variables, died on Sept. 13. He was 91.
Robert Lisk
Robert Lisk, professor of biology, emeritus, died on Sept. 12. He was 88.
Michael Goldman
Michael Goldman, professor of English, emeritus, scholar of Shakespeare and Ibsen, accomplished poet and one of the most distinguished voices in American dramatic criticism, died at home in Manhattan on Aug. 17, 2023. He was 87.
W. Jason Morgan
William Jason Morgan, Princeton University’s Knox Taylor Professor of Geology, Emeritus and a professor of geophysics, emeritus, was a pioneer of the theory of plate tectonics. He died at home July 31.
Harry Frankfurt
Harry Frankfurt, professor of philosophy, emeritus, renowned for his scholarship on free will and moral responsibility, died from a number of causes, including congestive heart failure, at a care facility in Santa Monica, California, on July 16, 2023. He was 94.
William Howarth
William “Will” Howarth, professor of English, emeritus, and eminent Thoreau scholar and environmental humanist, died of interstitial lung disease at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center on June 6, 2023. He was 82.
Robert Geddes
Robert Geddes, the founding dean of Princeton’s School of Architecture, the William R. Kenen Jr. Professor of Architecture, renowned urbanist and innovative educator, died on Feb. 13, 2023. He was 99.
Russell Banks
Russell Banks, the Howard G. B. Clark ’21 University Professor in the Humanities, Emeritus, and professor of the Humanities Council and creative writing, emeritus, died on Jan. 7, 2023. He was 82.
T. Leslie Shear Jr.
T. Leslie Shear, Jr., professor of classical archaeology, emeritus, died on September 28, 2022, at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center after a brief illness. He was 88.
2022
Robert Tignor
Robert “Bob” Tignor, the Rosengarten Professor of Modern and Contemporary History, Emeritus, died on December 9, 2022, of complications related to pneumonia at his home in Princeton. He was 89.
Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe
Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe, the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Princeton Environmental Institute, Emeritus, died on Sept. 28, 2022
Hildred Geertz
Hildred Storey Geertz, professor of anthropology, emeritus, died peacefully at home in Princeton on September 30, 2022. She was 95.
Daniel Osherson
Daniel Osherson, Princeton’s Henry R. Luce Professor in Information Technology, Consciousness, and Culture, Emeritus and an emeritus professor of psychology, died at home in Princeton on September 4, 2022 from complications due to Parkinson’s. He was 73 years old.
Sam Glucksberg
Sam Glucksberg, professor of psychology, emeritus, died Aug. 29, 2022, at Mt Sinai Beth Israel hospital in New York City. He was 89.
John Cooper
John Cooper, the Henry Putnam University Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, died on Aug. 8, 2022. He was 82.
Howard Rosenthal
Howard L. Rosenthal, the Roger Williams Straus Professor of Social Sciences, Emeritus, and professor of politics, emeritus, died on July 28, 2022. He was 83.
Austin Newton
Austin Newton, an emeritus professor of molecular biology, died May 13, 2022. He was 85.
Hale Trotter
Hale Trotter, an emeritus professor of mathematics, died Jan. 17, 2022. He was 91.
Edmund ‘Mike’ Keeley
Edmund “Mike” Keeley, the Charles Barnwell Straut Class of 1923 Professor of English, Emeritus, and professor of English and creative writing, emeritus, died Feb. 23, 2022. He was 94.
James Seawright
James Seawright, professor of visual arts, emeritus, died Feb. 12, 2022. He was 85.
Sara McLanahan
Sara McLanahan, the William S. Tod Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, Emeritus, died Dec. 31, 2021.
2021
Jacques Fresco
Jacques Robert Fresco, the Damon B. Pfeiffer Professor in the Life Sciences, Emeritus, died Dec. 5, 2021. He was 93.
Eric Wood
Eric Wood, the Susan Dod Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Emeritus, died Nov. 3. He was 74.
Gilbert Harman
Gilbert Harman, the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, died on Nov. 13, 2021
Tullis Onstott
Tullis Onstott, professor of geosciences, died Oct. 19, 2021
Alban Forcione
Alban Forcione, the Walter S. Carpenter Jr., Professor of Language, Literature and Civilization of Spain, Emeritus, died on Sept. 14, 2021
Robert Hollander Jr.
Robert Hollander, Jr., professor of European literature and French and Italian, emeritus, died on April 20, 2021
Lionel Gossman
Lionel Gossman, the M. Taylor Pyne Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, Emeritus, died on Jan. 11, 2021
Yoshiaki Shimizu
Yoshiaki (Yoshi) Shimizu, Marquand Professor of Art and Archaeology, Emeritus, died on Jan. 20, 2021
2020
Theodore Ziolkowski
Theodore Ziolkowski, former dean of the Graduate School, the Class of 1900 Professor of Modern Languages, Emeritus, and professor of Germanic languages and literatures and comparative literature, emeritus, died on Dec. 5, 2020
Stephen Cohen
Stephen Cohen, professor of politics, emeritus, died Sept. 18, 2020
Bruce Blair
Bruce Blair, research policy analyst at the Program on Science and Global Security, died on July 19, 2020
Leon Gordenker
Leon Gordenker, professor of politics, emeritus, died on May 17, 2020
Thomas Roche, Jr.
Thomas Roche, Jr., the Murray Professor of English, Emeritus, died on May 3, 2020
John Murrin
John Murrin, professor of history, emeritus, died May 2, 2020
John Horton Conway
John Horton Conway, the John von Neumann Professor in Applied and Computational Mathematics, Emeritus, and professor of mathematics, emeritus, died on April 11
L.Carl Brown
L. Carl Brown, the Garrett Professor in Foreign Affairs, Emeritus; Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Emeritus, died April 8, 2020
Claudio Spies
Claudio Spies, professor of music, emeritus, died on April 2, 2020
Philip Warren Anderson
Philip Warren Anderson, the Joseph Henry Professor of Physics, Emeritus, died March 29, 2020
Pierre Piroué
Pierre Piroué, the Henry DeWolf Smyth Professor of Physics, Emeritus, died Feb. 12, 2020
Barry Jacobs
Barry Jacobs, professor of psychology and neuroscience, emeritus, died Jan. 10, 2020
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell, professor of architecture, emeritus, died Jan. 2, 2020
2019
Stanley Stein
Stanley Stein, the Walter Samuel Carpenter III Professor in Spanish Civilization and Culture, Emeritus, and professor of history, emeritus, died Dec. 19, 2019
Irvin Glassman
Irvin Glassman, the Robert H. Goddard Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Emeritus, died Dec. 14, 2019
Paul A. Volcker
Paul A. Volcker, the Frederick H. Schultz Class of 1951 Professor of International Economic Policy, Emeritus, died Dec. 8, 2019
Jameson Doig
Jameson Doig, professor of politics and public affairs, emeritus, died Oct. 19, 2019
Samuel Hynes
Samuel Hynes, the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Literature, Emeritus and professor of English, emeritus, died Oct. 10, 2019
Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison, the Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities, Emeritus, died Aug. 5, 2019
Steven Gubser
Steven Scott Gubser, professor of physics, died Aug. 3, 2019
Peter Westergaard
Peter Westergaard, the William Conant Professor of Music, Emeritus, died June 26, 2019
David Hazen
David Hazen, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, emeritus, died April 27, 2019
Goro Shimura
Goro Shimura, professor emeritus of mathematics, died May 3, 2019
Charles Gordon Gross
Charles Gordon Gross, professor of psychology and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, emeritus, died April 13, 2019.
Robert Mark
Robert Mark, professor of civil engineering and architecture, emeritus, died March 29, 2019
Laura Wooten
Laura Wooten, food service worker in Campus Dining, died March 24, 2019
Alan B. Krueger
Alan B. Krueger, the James Madison Professor of Political Economy, died March 16, 2019
Henry Horn
Henry Horn, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, emeritus, died March 14, 2019
William Jacobs
William Jacobs, professor of biology, emeritus, died March 3, 2019
John Bonner
John Bonner, the George M. Moffett Professor of Biology, Emeritus, died Feb. 7, 2019
Norman Itzkowitz
Norman Itzkowitz, professor of Near Eastern studies, emeritus, died Jan. 20, 2019
Herman Ermolaev
Herman Ermolaev, professor Slavic languages and literatures, emeritus, died Jan. 6, 2019
Theodore Rabb
Theodore Rabb, professor of history, emeritus, died Jan. 7, 2019
2018
Elias Stein
Elias Stein, the Albert Baldwin Dod Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus, died Dec. 23, 2018
Fred Greenstein
Fred Greenstein, professor of politics, emeritus, died Dec. 3, 2018
Sau-Hai (Harvey) Lam
Sau-Hai (Harvey) Lam, the Edwin S. Wilsey Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Emeritus, died Oct. 29, 2018
John Bowman Thomas
John Bowman Thomas, professor of electrical engineering, emeritus, died Sept. 13, 2018
Wen Fong
Wen Fong, the Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Art History, Emeritus, and professor of art and archaeology, emeritus, died Oct. 3, 2018
Vilma Codner
Vilma Codner, assistant director of undergraduate financial aid, died July 29, 2018
Herb Abelson
Herb Abelson, former associate director of the Survey Research Center, died Sept. 9, 2018
John Darley
John Darley, the Dorman T. Warren Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, and professor of psychology and public affairs, emeritus, died Aug. 31, 2018
Robert George Gilpin Jr.
Robert George Gilpin Jr., the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of International Affairs, Emeritus, and professor of politics and international affairs, emeritus, in the Woodrow Wilson School and the Department of Politics, died June 20, 2018
Adel Mahmoud
Adel Mahmoud, lecturer with the rank of professor in molecular biology and international affairs, Woodrow Wilson School, died June 11, 2018
Alvin Kernan
Alvin Kernan, the Avalon Foundation Professor of the Humanities, Emeritus, professor of English, emeritus, and former dean of the Graduate School at Princeton University, died May 17, 2018
Léon-François Hoffmann
Léon-François Hoffmann, professor of French and Italian, emeritus, died May 25, 2018
Bernard Lewis
Bernard Lewis, the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Emeritus, died on May 19, 2018.
André Maman
André Maman, professor of Romance languages and literatures, emeritus, died April 13, 2018
David Billington
David Billington, the Gordon Y.S. Wu Professor of Engineering, Emeritus, died March 25, 2018
Anne Treisman
Anne Treisman, the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, died Feb. 9, 2018
George Pitcher
George Pitcher, professor of philosophy, emeritus, died Jan. 12, 2018
2017
Kenneth Deffeyes
Kenneth Deffeyes, professor of geosciences, emeritus, died Nov. 29, 2017
Slobodan Ćurčić
Slobodan Ćurčić, professor of art and archaeology, emeritus, died Dec. 3, 2017
Robert Jahn
Robert Jahn, former dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, emeritus, died Nov. 15, 2017
Edward C. Taylor
Edward C. Taylor, the A. Barton Hepburn Professor of Organic Chemistry, Emeritus, died Nov. 22, 2017
Donald McClure
Donald McClure, the Russell Wellman Moore Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus at Princeton, died Nov. 17, 2017
Uwe Reinhardt
Uwe Reinhardt, the James Madison Professor of Political Economy and professor of economics and public affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School, died Nov. 13, 2017
Kurt Mislow
Kurt Mislow, the Hugh Stott Taylor Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus, died Oct. 5, 2017
Michael Curschmann
Michael Curschmann, professor of Germanic languages and literatures, emeritus, died Oct. 7, 2017
Delia Graff Fara
Delia Graff Fara, professor of philosophy, died July 18, 2017
George Luchak
George Luchak, professor emeritus of civil engineering, died June 6, 2017
Isabelle Clark-Decès
Isabelle Clark-Decès, a professor of anthropology, passed away June 29, 2017.
Lloyd Cotsen
Lloyd Cotsen, a 1950 alumnus and one of the University’s most generous donors, died May 8, 2017
William Baumol
William Baumol, the Joseph Douglas Green 1895 Professor of Economics, Emeritus, and senior economist, passed away May 4, 2017.
Edward Yuncza
Edward Yuncza, computing support specialist in the Office of the Vice President for Finance and Treasurer, died Tuesday, May 2, 2017.
Gerard Washnitzer
Gerard Washnitzer, professor emeritus of mathematics, passed away April 2, 2017.
William Graessley
William Graessley, professor of chemical engineering emeritus, died Feb. 18, 2017
Carles Vallhonrat
Carles Vallhonrat, lecturer with the rank of professor in the School of Architecture, died Feb. 21, 2017
John Mather
John Mather, professor of mathematics, passed away Jan. 28, 2017.
Ricardo Piglia
Ricardo Piglia, the Walter S. Carpenter Professor of Language, Literature and Civilizatiion of Spain, Emeritus, and professor of Spanish and Portuguese languages and cultures, emeritus, died Jan. 6, 2017.
2016
William “Bill” Bonini
William “Bill” Bonini, the George J. Magee Professor of Geophysics and Geological Engineering, Emeritus, and professor of geosciences and civil engineering, emeritus, passed away Dec. 13, 2016.
Yu-kung Kao
Yu-kung Kao, professor emeritus of East Asian studies, died Oct. 29, 2016.
William G. Bowen
William G. Bowen, president of Princeton University from 1972 to 1988 and a professor of economics and public affairs, emeritus, died Oct. 20, 2016.
Michael Danielson
Michael Danielson, the B.C. Forbes Professor of Public Affairs, Emeritus, and professor of politics and public affairs, emeritus, passed away Sept. 22, 2016.
Elaine Fantham
Elaine Fantham, the Giger Professor of Latin, Emeritus, and professor of classics, emeritus, passed away July 11, 2016
Gillett Griffin
Gillett Griffin, curator of Pre-Columbian and Native American art, emeritus, passed away June 9, 2016
Ronald Davidson
Ronald C. Davidson, former Princeton University professor of astrophysical sciences who directed the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, died May 19, 2016
Ralph Freedman
Ralph Freedman, professor of comparative literature, emeritus, passed away May 5, 2016
John C. Moore
John C. Moore, professor emeritus of mathematics, passed away Jan. 1, 2016.
2015
Tim Vasen
Tim Vasen, lecturer in theater and the Lewis Center for the Arts, and the director of the Program in Theater, passed away Dec. 28, 2015
Walter Wallace
Walter Wallace, professor of sociology, emeritus, passed away Sept. 18, 2015
Sheldon Wolin
Sheldon Wolin, professor of politics, emeritus, passed away Oct. 21, 2015.
Charles Gillispie
Charles Gillispie, the Dayton-Stockton Professor of History, Emeritus, passed away Oct. 6, 2015.
Hugo Meyer
Hugo Meyer, professor of art and archaeology emeritus, passed away Sept. 12, 2015
C.K. Williams
C.K. Williams, a former lecturer with the rank of professor in the Council of the Humanities and the Lewis Center for the Arts’ Program in Creative Writing, passed away Sept. 20, 2015.
Carl Schorske
Carl Schorske, the Dayton-Stockton Professor of History, Emeritus, passed away Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015.
Mary George
Mary George, senior reference librarian, passed away Aug. 9, 2015
Clarence Brown
Clarence Brown, professor emeritus of comparative literature, passed away July 18, 2015
Charles Townsend
Charles Townsend, professor emeritus of Slavic languages and literatures, passed away June 7, 2015
Darius Sadri
Darius Sadri, associate professional specialist in the Department of Electrical Engineering, passed away April 7, 2015
Michael Graves
Michael Graves, the Robert Schirmer Professor of Architecture Emeritus, passed away March 12, 2015
Val Fitch
Val Fitch, the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Physics, Emeritus, passed away Feb. 5, 2015
2014
Robert Naumann
Robert Naumann, professor of chemistry and physics emeritus, passed away Dec. 10, 2014
Henry Drewry
Henry Drewry, former director of Princeton’s Program in Teacher Preparation, passed away Nov. 21, 2014.
William Surber Jr.
William Surber Jr., professor of electrical engineering emeritus, passed away Aug. 27, 2014
Edward Nelson
Edward Nelson, professor emeritus of mathematics, passed away Sept. 10, 2014.
Samuel Hunter
Samuel Hunter, professor of art and archaeology, emeritus, passed away July 27, 2014
Harold Kuhn
Harold Kuhn, professor emeritus of mathematical economics, passed away July 2, 2014
A. Walton Litz
A. Walton Litz, the Holmes Professor of Belles Lettres, Emeritus, and professor of English, emeritus, passed away June 4, 2014.
James Randall
James Randall, professor emeritus of music, passed away May 28, 2014
Paul Sigmund
Paul Sigmund, professor emeritus of politics, passed away on April 27, 2014.
Richard Ullman
David E. Bruce Professor of International Affairs, Emeritus, March 11, 2014
Forman Acton
professor emeritus of computer science, Feb. 18, 2014
2013
Kenneth Levy
Scheide Professor of Music History Emeritus, Aug. 15, 2013
Sarah Charlesworth
lecturer with the rank of professor in the Program in Visual Arts in the Lewis Center for the Arts, June 26, 2013
James Diamond
former director of the Center for Jewish Life, March 28, 2013
Joseph Frank
Class of 1926 Professor of Comparative Literature, Emeritus, Feb. 27, 2013
Frances Wroblewski
faculty assistant in the Department of Math, Feb. 24, 2013
Charles Gilvarg
professor emeritus of molecular biology, Jan. 6, 2013
2012
Peter B. Kenen
the Walker Professor of Economics and International Finance Emeritus, Dec. 17, 2012
Alan Colquhoun
professor emeritus of architecture and the Class of 1913 Lecturer in Architecture Emeritus, Dec. 13, 2012
Howard “Pat” Curtiss Jr.
professor emeritus of mechanical and aerospace engineering, Sept. 20, 2012
Richard Burgi
professor emeritus of Slavic languages and literatures, July 26, 2012
George Miller
the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Psychology Emeritus, July 22, 2012
Dale Grieb
director of administration and services in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, May 21, 2012
Malcolm Steinberg
Henry Fairfield Osborn Professor of Biology Emeritus and professor of molecular biology emeritus, Feb. 7, 2012
Bradley Dickinson
professor of electrical engineering, Jan. 22, 2012
2011
Sin-I Cheng
professor emeritus of mechanical and aerospace engineering, Dec. 6, 2011
Robert Koch
professor emeritus of art and archaeology, Nov. 10, 2011
Stuart Schwartz
professor emeritus of electrical engineering, Aug. 27, 2011
Bart Hoebel
professor of psychology and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, June 11, 2011
Ralph Lerner
George Dutton ’27 Professor of Architecture Emeritus, May 7, 2011
Toshiko Takaezu
longtime faculty member in visual arts, March 9, 2011
Milton Babbitt
William Shubael Conant Professor of Music Emeritus, Jan. 29, 2011
Robert J. Clark
professor emeritus of art and archaeology, Jan. 4, 2011
2010
Suzanne Keller
professor emeritus of sociology, Dec. 9, 2010
Franklyn Van Houten
professor emeritus of geological and geophysical sciences, Aug. 27, 2010
George F. “Bud” Schmucki
the fifth recording secretary of the University, Aug. 2, 2010
Robert Tucker
the IBM Professor of International Studies Emeritus, July 29, 2010
Marvin Bressler
the Roger Williams Straus Professor of Social Sciences Emeritus, July 7, 2010
John Lewis
professor of economics and international affairs emeritus and former dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, May 19, 2010
Walter F. Murphy
the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence Emeritus, April 20, 2010
Walter Lo
professor of electrical engineering and computer science emeritus, Feb. 25, 2010
David Furley
the Ewing Professor of Greek Language and Literature Emeritus, Jan. 26, 2010
2009
Ahmed Eringen
professor emeritus of civil engineering and operations research, Dec. 7, 2009
Susan Gafgen
electrical engineering (on leave), Sept. 24, 2009
Edward Seckel
professor emeritus of mechanical and aerospace engineering, Sept. 28, 2009
John Marks
professor emeritus of Near Eastern studies, April 15, 2009
Norman Sollenberger
professor emeritus of civil engineering, April 8, 2009
Walter Kauzmann
the David B. Jones Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, Jan. 27, 2009
2008
Marilyn McMullen
ecology and evolutionary biology, July 12, 2008
Steve Slaby
professor emeritus of civil engineering and operations research, July 5, 2008