Donal Smith

Donal Ian Brice Smith^[2] (4 February 1934 – 27 September 2023) was a New Zealand middle-distance runner and English literature academic. He represented his country at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games and 1960 Olympic Games, and was a professor of English at the University of Auckland from 1973 until his retirement in 2000.

Smith was born in Auckland, New Zealand, on 4 February 1934, the son of Bruce and Judy (née Jaffray) Smith.^[2][3] He was educated at Auckland Grammar School and at University of Auckland, taking a BA in 1954 and an MA the following year.^[4] After a brief period lecturing at Auckland, he was the inaugural recipient of the Eliot Davis Memorial Scholarship in 1956, which provided for three years of study at either Cambridge or Oxford.^[5] Later that year, he matriculated at Merton College, Oxford, spending the next four years studying for his DPhil.^[4] His doctoral thesis was titled An edition of The rehearsal transpros'd by Andrew Marvell, with introduction and commentary.^[6]

In 1959, Smith married Marjory Jill Evans,^[4] with whom he later had three children.^[7]

In 1958, Smith finished fifth in the final of the 880 yards at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff. At the 1960 Summer Olympics, he was eliminated in the quarter-final of the 800 metres.^[2]

After a period at the University of Toronto, Smith was appointed a professor of English at the University of Auckland in 1973.^[8][9] When he retired in 2000, he was accorded the title of professor emeritus.^[10]

Smith died on 27 September 2023, at the age of 89.^[7]

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