David J. Furley

David John Furley FBA (24 February 1922 – 26 January 2010) was a British scholar of ancient philosophy and a specialist in Greco-Roman cosmology and natural philosophy. He spent the first two decades of his academic career at University College London and the remainder at Princeton University, where he became Ewing Professor of Greek Language and Literature. Furley is best known for Two Studies in the Greek Atomists and The Greek Cosmologists (1987), and for a body of shorter writings widely admired for their analytical precision and economy. He was elected a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy in 1990.

Early life and education

David John Furley was born on 24 February 1922 in Nottingham, the son of Athelstan Willis Furley, a hosiery manufacturer. He attended Nottingham High School, where he proved an exceptionally gifted pupil, served as Captain of the School, attained the rank of Company Sergeant Major in the Officers' Training Corps, and was a regular player for the First XI cricket team.

Career University College London (1947–1966)

In 1947 Furley took up an assistant lectureship in the Departments of Greek and Latin at University College London, and in September 2005 was one of few survivors from its inaugural meeting to gather in Oxford for its fiftieth anniversary. He directed the Program in Classical Philosophy from 1969 to 1982

During his career Furley served as president of the Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy

Furley died on 26 January 2010 at Banbury Hospital, Banbury, following a long illness. His funeral was held on 12 February 2010 in Charlbury, near Oxford. Lucretius was among Furley's intellectual heroes, and Lucretius's repudiation of the fear of death was read at Furley's funeral.

Selected bibliography