My husband Richard Rathbone, who has died aged 81, was for many years professor of African history at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (Soas).
He loved teaching, and was, one of his former students said, “a superb supervisor, prompt in reading what I wrote, his gentle and encouraging criticisms precise and pointed and always stimulating”. He travelled extensively over the years, spending time in Ghana and South Africa, and had fellowships at Harvard and Princeton.
