Sebastian Rahtz
{{Short description|British digital humanities information professional}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Sebastian Rahtz
| image = SebastianRahtz.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Sebastian Rahtz in 2015
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1955|02|13|df=y}}
| birth_name = Sebastian Patrick Quintus Rahtz
| birth_place = Bristol, England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2016|03|15|1955|02|13|df=y}}
| death_place = Oxford, England
| resting_place = Oxford, England
| resting_place_coordinates =
| other_names = SPQR
Stormageddon Rahtz{{fact|date=October 2024}}
| nationality = British
| fields =
| workplaces = University of Exeter
University of Southampton
University of Oxford
Oxford University Computing Services
| patrons =
| alma_mater = University College London (PhD)
| thesis_title = Funerary epitaphs and iconography : an analysis of the Protestant Cemetery, Rome
| thesis_url = https://search.worldcat.org/title/941053430
| thesis_year = 1974
| doctoral_advisor =
| academic_advisors =
| doctoral_students =
| notable_students =
| known_for = TeX
Text Encoding Initiative
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| footnotes =
| spouse = Leonor Barroca
| children =2
}}
Sebastian Patrick Quintus Rahtz (13 February 1955 – 15 March 2016) (SPQR) was a British digital humanities information professional.{{Google Scholar id}}{{Scopus id}}
Education and early life
Born in 1955 to archaeologist Philip Rahtz, Sebastian also trained in archaeology, and was awarded a PhD in 1974 from University College London.{{cite thesis|url=https://ucl.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/44UCL_INST/155jbua/alma990005838650204761|title=Funerary epitaphs and iconography : an analysis of the Protestant Cemetery, Rome|first=Sebastian Patrick Quintus |last=Rahtz |year=1974|oclc=941053430|publisher=University College London|degree=PhD|website=exlibrisgroup.com}}
Career
Rahtz developed an interest in computing came from working on the Lexicon of Greek Personal Names (LGPN) in 1982.{{cite web|url=http://www.lgpn.ox.ac.uk/ |title=Homepage, Lexicon of Greek Personal Names|publisher= University of Oxford |website=lgpn.ox.ac.uk |date= |accessdate=2016-03-23}}
Rahtz was a long-term contributor to several communities in the broader digital humanities, including LGPN, TeX,{{cite web|url=https://tug.org/interviews/rahtz.html |title=Sebastian Rahtz - Interview - TeX Users Group |publisher=Tug.org |date= |accessdate=2016-03-23}}{{cite web|author=|date=|title=Contributor Sebastian Rahtz|url=https://www.ctan.org/author/rahtz?lang=en|publisher=CTAN|accessdate=2016-03-23}} computer methods in archaeology,{{cite web|url=http://caa-international.org/2016/03/16/sebastian-rahtz/ |title=Sebastian Rahtz |publisher=CAA International |date=2016-02-16 |accessdate=2016-03-23}} and the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI).{{cite web|url=http://www.tei-c.org/release/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/FM1.html |title=iii. Preface and Acknowledgments - The TEI Guidelines |publisher=Tei-c.org |date=2015-10-15 |accessdate=2016-03-23}} Sebastian's legacy also includes the vital contributions which he made to building and maintaining much of the TEI's technical Infrastructure and related software such as their XSLT stylesheets and web-based document conversion engine OxGarage,{{cite web|url=http://www.tei-c.org/oxgarage/ |title=OxGarage document conversion service | accessdate=2016-03-24}} CLAROS,{{cite web|url=http://www.clarosnet.org/ |title=CLAROS: the World of Ancient Art on the Semantic Web | accessdate=2016-03-24}} the Oxford Text Archive,{{cite web|url=http://www.ota.ox.ac.uk/ |title=Oxford Text Archive | accessdate=2016-03-24}} Text Creation Partnership{{cite web|url=https://blogs.it.ox.ac.uk/martinw/2016/03/23/the-oxford-text-archive-2015/|title=The Oxford Text Archive – downloads in 2015 - Martin Wynne|first=Martin|last=Wynne|publisher=}} and OSS Watch.{{cite web|url=http://oss-watch.ac.uk/ |title=OSS Watch: independent advice on free and open source software | accessdate=2016-03-24}}
From 1999 to 2015 he worked at Oxford University Computing Services (OUCS) which in August 2012 merged with two other departments to become IT Services.{{cite web|url=http://users.ox.ac.uk/~rahtz/|title=Sebastian's Rahtz minimal home page|publisher=Users.ox.ac.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325203135/http://users.ox.ac.uk/~rahtz/|archive-date=25 March 2016|access-date=2017-04-03|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} He joined the department in 1999 from Elsevier, having previously served as a lecturer in Humanities Computing at the University of Southampton. He became Head of the Information and Support Group in OUCS, and then joint Director (for Research) of the Academic IT Group in 2010, and a member of the senior management team. In 2014, he was appointed Chief Data Architect.{{cite web |url=https://www.it.ox.ac.uk/governance/it-architecture |title=IT Architecture Group, University of Oxford |accessdate=2016-09-27 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927111020/https://www.it.ox.ac.uk/governance/it-architecture#membership |archivedate=27 September 2016 |df=dmy-all }} He took medical retirement from IT Services in the late summer of 2015.
=Publications=
- Kicking and screaming: Challenges and advantages of bringing TCP texts into line with Text Encoding Initiative. J. Cummings and S. Rahtz, in Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, "Revolutionizing Early Modern Studies"? The Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership, (2012). Retrieved from http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f9667884-220b-4ec9-bb2f-c79044302399
- The LaTeX Web Companion: Integrating TeX, HTML, and XML. M. Goossens, S. P. Q. Rahtz, and S. Rahtz, with E. Gurari, R. Moore, and R. Sutor. Addison-Wesley
- Guide to LaTeX. H. Kopka, P. W. Daly, and S. P. Q. Rahtz. Addison-Wesley
- The LaTeX companion. F. Mittelbach, M. Goossens, J. Braams, D. Carlisle, and C. Rowley. Addison-Wesley
- LaTeX: Einführung. H. Kopka and S. Rahtz. Addison-Wesley
- The LaTeX Graphics Companion: Illustrating Documents with TeX and Postscript (Tools and Techniques for Computer Typesetting). M. Goossens, F. Mittelbach, S. Rahtz. D. Roegel, and H. Voss. Addison-Wesley
- A style option for rotated objects in LaTeX (1992), 156-180. S. Rahtz and L. Barroca.
- Archaeology and the Information Age: A global perspective (1992), P. Reilly and S. Rahtz (eds.), One World Archaeology. Routledge.
= Legacy =
In September 2016, Oxford University ran a whole-day event celebrating his life, with speakers talking about his projects.{{cite web|url=http://www.oerc.ox.ac.uk/sebastian-rahtz|title=SPQR a digital legacy: what Sebastian Patrick Quintus Rahtz did for us|date=7 September 2016|website=Oxford e-Research Centre}}[http://tug.org/TUGboat/tb37-2/tb116rahtz-burnard.pdf Sebastian Rahtz (1955–2016): A brief memoir by Lou Burnard][http://tug.org/TUGboat/tb37-2/tb116rahtz-mitt.pdf R.I.P. — S.P.Q.R Sebastian Patrick Quintus Rahtz (13.2.1955–15.3.2016) by Frank Mittelbach and Joan Richmond]{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816094212/http://lists.digitalhumanities.org/pipermail/humanist/2016-March/013676.html |date=August 16, 2021 |title=Sebastian Rahtz 1955–2016 by Willard McCarty }} Many of the talks are available as podcasts.{{cite web|title=Sebastian Rahtz, a celebration of his work|url=http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/sebastian-rahtz-celebration-his-work|website=University of Oxford Podcasts}}
Personal life
He died in 2016, from brain cancer.{{cite web|url=http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.text.tei.general/19908|title=Gmane Loom|website=comments.gmane.org|access-date=29 March 2016|archive-date=20 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920221620/http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.text.tei.general/19908|url-status=dead}}
References
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Category:Scientists from Bristol
Category:Academics of the University of Southampton
Category:People associated with the University of Oxford
Category:Alumni of the University of London
Category:Text Encoding Initiative
Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford