Trevor West

{{Infobox officeholder

| image = TrevorWest.jpg

| caption = West in 2005

| birth_name = Timothy Trevor West

| birth_place = County Cork, Ireland

| birth_date = {{birth date|1938|5|8|df=y}}

| death_date = {{death date and age|2012|10|30|1938|5|8|df=y}}

| death_place = County Cork, Ireland

| office = Senator

| term_start = 13 May 1982

| term_end = 23 February 1983

| term_start1 = 19 November 1970

| term_end1 = 8 October 1981

| constituency1 = Dublin University

| party = Independent

| spouse = {{marriage|Maura Lee|1995}}

| children =

| education = {{ubl|Midleton College|The High School, Dublin}}

| alma_mater = {{ubl|Trinity College Dublin|University of Cambridge}}

}}

Timothy Trevor West (8 May 1938 – 30 October 2012){{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/obituaries/2012/1103/1224326091379.html|title=Vigorous scholar, sportsman and senator|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=3 November 2012}} was an Irish mathematician, academic and politician.{{cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Timothy-Trevor-West.S.1970-11-19/|title=Timothy Trevor West|work=Oireachtas Members Database|access-date=16 December 2011}}

Biography

He was born on 8 May 1938 in County Cork, the eldest of four sons of Timothy Roberts West, headmaster of Midleton College, and Dorothy West (née McNeill).{{cite web|url=https://www.dib.ie/biography/west-trevor-a10056|title=West, Trevor|work=Dictionary of Irish Biography|last=Timoney|first=Richard M.|access-date=18 February 2023}}

He was educated at Midleton College,{{cite web|url=http://www.ducac.tcdlife.ie/assets/pdf/2012-13/DUCAC%20General/In%20Memoriam-Timothy%20Trevor%20West%20-%20November%202012.pdf|title=In Memoriam – Timothy Trevor West|publisher=Dublin University Central Athletic Club|access-date=28 October 2013}} and The High School, Dublin. West was a graduate of Trinity College Dublin (TCD), where he was elected a scholar, and of the University of Cambridge.{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/1102/1224326035115.html|title=Funeral tomorrow of former TCD academic and senator|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=2 November 2012}} In 1970 he was elected a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin and was also an associate professor of mathematics, Junior Dean, and a great supporter of sport at Trinity.{{cite web|url=http://www.lilliputpress.ie/book/163/west_trevor-the_bold_collegians_the_development_of_sport_in_trinity_college_dublin.html|title=The Bold Collegians|work=The Lilliput Press|access-date=16 December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310131426/http://www.lilliputpress.ie/book/163/west_trevor-the_bold_collegians_the_development_of_sport_in_trinity_college_dublin.html|archive-date=10 March 2012}} He was also a Member of the Royal Irish Academy. He subsequently was a Senior Fellow of TCD.{{cite book |date=2000 |title=The University of Dublin Calendar 2000-01}}

On 19 November 1970, West was elected to Seanad Éireann, at a by-election for the Dublin University constituency caused by the death of Owen Sheehy-Skeffington. After his election, he established a reputation as one of the few liberal voices in the Seanad. He was re-elected to the Seanad in 1973 and 1977, lost his seat at the 1981 Seanad election but was re-elected in 1982, then lost his seat again at the 1983 Seanad election.

With John T. Lewis and D. McQuillan, West drew up the constitution of the Irish Mathematical Society.[http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Societies/Irish.html The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive page on The Irish Mathematical Society]

He was the author of The Bold Collegians, a history of sport in Trinity College, and was an avid follower of Trinity College's sports programs. He also wrote a history of Midleton College, published for its tercentenary in 1996.Trevor West, Midleton College, 1696–1996: A Tercentenary History (Midleton, County Cork: Midleton College, 1996)

Memorials

An event was held in his memory at the Royal Irish Academy in December 2013 where a memorial issue of the Mathematical Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy was presented.[https://www.ria.ie/events/events-listing/trevor-west--an-irish-mathematician.aspx Trevor West: An Irish Mathematician] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20131213204200/https://www.ria.ie/events/events-listing/trevor-west--an-irish-mathematician.aspx |date=2013-12-13 }}

A book of essays celebrating his life, Trevor West : The Bold Collegian, was published in October 2016.{{cite web|url=https://www.lilliputpress.ie/event/book-launch-trevor-west-bold-collegian|title=Trevor West : The Bold Collegian |access-date=30 October 2016}}

On 14 September 2018, a new sports hall in Midleton College dedicated to the memory of Trevor West was opened by the Provost of Trinity College, Patrick Prendergast.{{cite web|url=https://churchofirelandcork.com/?s=trevor+west|title=Speech by Bishop Paul Colton on the occasion of the official opening of the Trevor West sports hall|work=churchofirelandcork.com|date=16 September 2018}}

Publications

Trevor West, with Rien Kaashoek, Locally compact semi-algebras : with applications to spectral theory of positive operators (Amsterdam; London: North-Holland Publishing Co., 1974)
Trevor West, The Bold Collegians. The Development of Sport in Trinity College Dublin (Dublin, 1991)
Trevor West, Midleton College, 1696–1996: A Tercentenary History (Midleton: Midleton College, 1996)