George Chowdharay-Best 1935-2000

George Chowdharay-Best died of a brain tumour on 21 April, only a few weeks before his 65th birthday, when he was due to retire. His illness developed with a speed that took us all by surprise, and his death is an enormous loss to our research capabilities, especially since we had hoped he would continue doing research on a freelance basis after he retired. His connection with the OED dates from the early 1970s, following a piece he published in the Mariner's Mirror about the origin of posh. He was a freelance contributor for a time, and then joined the staff, working at the British Library and the other research libraries in London.

His special interests included political and constitutional history, taxonomy, and trademarks. His knowledge of all manner of sources was prodigious, as was his output of work, and he was quite likely to antedate a word one sent him even if that was not the reason for sending it. Life on the OED will not be the same without him.