| Authorised form of name | Rhind; David William (1943-2025); geographer and earth scientist |
| Dates | 1943 - 2025 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | England, United Kingdom |
| Date of birth | 29 November 1943 |
| Place of death | England, United Kingdom |
| Date of death | 6 January 2025 |
| Occupation | Geographer and earth scientist |
| Research field | Geomorphology |
| Earth sciences |
| Geography |
| Activity | Education:
Berwick Grammar School; University of Bristol 1965; University of Edinburgh PhD 1969
Career:
Research Officer, University of Edinburgh (1968-69); Head, Applications Section, Experimental Cartography Unit, Royal College of Art (1969-73); Lecturer and Reader in the Department of Geography, Durham University (1973-1981); Visiting Fellow, International Training Centre, Enschede, the Netherlands (1975); Visiting Fellow, Australian National University (1979); Professor of Geography, University of London (1982-1991); Dean of the Faculty of Economics (1984); Vice President of the International Cartographic Association (c. 1984); Dean of departments of Computer Science, Maths & Statistics, Economics and Geography, Birkbeck College (1987-1991); Director General and Chief Executive, Ordnance Survey of Great Britain (1992-1998); Vice Chancellor, City University, London (1998-2007); chair of the Statistics Commission from (2003–2008); Non-executive director, Bank of England; Non-executive director, deputy chair (statistical system) UK Statistics Authority.
Honours:
CBE 2001
Memberships:
FBA |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 13/05/2002 |
| RSActivity | Council 2003-2004
Committees:
Sectional Committee 10: Health and human sciences 2009-2012
Industry Fellowships Joint Panel 2005-2006 |
| PublishedWorks | RCN R69440
RCN 1826
RCN R69936 |
| OtherInfo | Pioneered the computer handling and analysis of the United Kingdom's cartographic and other geographical data. As the first scientific Director General of the Ordnance Survey, he completed the construction of the world's first entirely digital national topographic database.
After compiling the first database on geological boreholes in the late 1960s, David became an extremely early adopter of digital mapping and related ‘Big Data’ (by the standards of the time). As an influential adviser to numerous national and international cartographic bodies, he assisted with the development of prototype automated data handling systems such as the European Union’s CORINE environmental information system. |
| Source | The Royal Society Fellows Directory, Professor David Rhind CBE FBA FRS, [URL: https://royalsociety.org/people/david-rhind-12166/; last accessed: 23/04/2025]
Royal Geographical Society, Obituaries: Professor David Rhind CBE (1943-2025), 16 January 2025, [URL: https://www.rgs.org/about-us/our-work/latest-news/professor-david-rhind-cbe-1943-2025; last accessed: 23/03/2025]
Richard Alldritt, Professor David Rhind CBE, FRS, FBA 1943–2025, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A: Statistics in Society, Volume 188, Issue 2, April 2025, Pages 639–640, [URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/jrsssa/qnaf023; last accessed: 23/04/2025] |
| Code | NA8484 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| IM/003800 | Rhind, David William | 2002 |
| EC/2002/33 | Rhind, David William: certificate of election to the Royal Society | |