My father Gordon Roderick (Rod to his family and friends), who has died aged 90, was a historian of scientific education in England and Wales in the late Victorian period and early 20th century. He was an academic who helped develop the discipline of adult continuing education, and an advocate for the public understanding of science.
Born in Ystradgynlais, a mining town in the Swansea valley, he was the second son of Mary (nee Evans) and David, a clerk in the local colliery. It was a Welsh-speaking and nonconformist family, rich in books and the only one in the town to take the Manchester Guardian. Rod was educated at the local county school, the University of Swansea, and University College London, where he obtained a PhD in physics.
He joined the extramural department of Liverpool University in 1961, one of the first lecturers qualified in science to be appointed to such a role. This enabled him to pursue a lifelong passion in improving access to higher education, especially for mature students – those like his parents who had missed out at school.
He lectured on cosmology and atomic physics but pursued wider interests, including human genetics, which resulted in the book Man and Heredity (1968). His research into the history of scientific education and its relationship to British industry brought him a master’s degree.
In 1976 he became professor in adult education at the University of Sheffield, where he continued his historical research, co-editing Where Did We Go Wrong? Industry, Education and Economy in Victorian Britain (1981). After 10 years he moved back as chair to the University of Swansea. There he studied the history of scientific education in Wales, co-authoring A History of Education in Wales (2003), which has been described as “one of the landmarks of the historiography of Wales”. He published widely on history and education, including co-authoring the popular books Never Too Late to Learn (1982) and So You Want to Get a Degree? (1984).
Retiring from academic life around 1990, he spent five years as director of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust in Wales. In retirement he continued researching, gave talks to local history groups, read European and British history, and followed interests in classical music, opera, cycling and gardening.
At King’s College he met Gay Hughes, an undergraduate in modern languages from North Wales who later became a language teacher. They married in 1956 and had two sons. My brother Mike and I had a happy family life and shared our father’s passion for Welsh rugby.
Gay died in 1981. Six years later my father married Jean (nee Livick), a health visitor, who had two children, Rhian and David, from her previous marriage. He is survived by Jean, Mike, Rhian, David and me, and by 11 grandchildren.
