I note with sadness the passing of Charles M. Gray, a learned, kind, and thoughtful constitutional historian of Great Britain. While a student at the University of Chicago Law School in the early 1980s I took his "British Constitutional History" and often talked with him at legal history events. I recall his essay "Bonham's Case Reviewed" as a classic on that legal landmark, but perhaps even more I remember how, simply by displaying his love of his subject, he made a compelling case for the scholarly life. A student quoted in the University of Chicago's press release got it just right: "He definitely glows from his eternal enjoyment of teaching, and in turn, this inspires his students to learn. I never leave his classes without serious reflection on my own ideas and the ideas that are greater than myself."
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Charles M. Gray (1928-2011)
I note with sadness the passing of Charles M. Gray, a learned, kind, and thoughtful constitutional historian of Great Britain. While a student at the University of Chicago Law School in the early 1980s I took his "British Constitutional History" and often talked with him at legal history events. I recall his essay "Bonham's Case Reviewed" as a classic on that legal landmark, but perhaps even more I remember how, simply by displaying his love of his subject, he made a compelling case for the scholarly life. A student quoted in the University of Chicago's press release got it just right: "He definitely glows from his eternal enjoyment of teaching, and in turn, this inspires his students to learn. I never leave his classes without serious reflection on my own ideas and the ideas that are greater than myself."
