Professor Marcus Wheeler (died 12 June 2020, aged 93)
Obituary taken from the Belfast Telegraph
The death has been announced of Marcus Wheeler, former Professor of Russian and Slavonic Studies at Queen’s University Belfast.
The distinguished academic, who was the author of the first Oxford Russian / English Dictionary and numerous scholarly works, died in the Belfast City Hospital on 12 June.
A native of Amersham in Buckinghamshire, Professor Wheeler joined the staff of Queen's in 1967, after a career at the Oxford University Press and the Foreign Office, where he had been posted to Moscow as a translator.
Professor Wheeler became the first Professor of Slavonic Studies to be appointed by Queen’s.
A co-founder of the Irish Association for Russian, Central and East European Studies, he was also a recipient of the prestigious Medal of Pushkin - which is a state decoration of the Russian Federation awarded for achievements in the arts and culture, education, humanities and literature.
Professor Wheeler, who lived in south Belfast, retired from the University in 1993, becoming an emeritus professor.
He is survived by his wife Sally, children Eleanor, Stephen and Rosemary, and grandchildren Alex and Arianna.
Back to list
Top of Page