Jones , David Mervyn , 1922-2009 , Professor of Hungarian

David Mervyn Jones (29 Jul 1922-2009) was the son of John David Jones, a university lecturer, and Gladys Alicia Jones née Coombs. He attended the King Edward VII School in Sheffield between 1929 and 1939, where he passed Greek, French and History examinations with distinction and then studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating in 1948, during which time he also completed national service. He was elected a Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford and St. Antony's College, Oxford as a Hungarian specialist and later went on to work for the Foreign Office.

In 1966 he published a volume of essays entitled 'Five Hungarian Writers'. One of the five subjects of the volume was Baron József Eötvös (1813-1871), who Jones described as 'Hungary's Democrat Baron' and in 1996 he translated Eötvös' major treatise 'The dominant ideas of the nineteenth century and their impact on the state'. In 2000 he was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary.

Publications:

Jones, D Mervyn: Five Hungarian writers (Oxford: Clarendon , 1966).

Eötvös, József, 'The dominant ideas of the nineteenth century and their impact on the state; translated, edited and annotated with an introductory essay by D. Mervyn Jones. Volume 1, Diagnosis' (Distributed by Columbia University Press, 1996)

Eötvös, József, 'The dominant ideas of the nineteenth century and their impact on the state; translated, edited and annotated by D. Mervyn Jones. Volume. 2, 'Remedy'. (Distributed by Columbia University Press, 1996)