Professor Alan Watson

Alan Watson

The legal academic, who remained an honorary professor at Edinburgh, died in Athens, Georgia, USA at 85.

After departing from Edinburgh, Professor Watson taught at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Georgia.

Professor John W. Cairns, writing in an obituary for the university website, said: “Alan could inspire students, and relished teaching. Indeed, he was very disappointed when a relatively recent downturn in his health meant he had to retire. He missed his classes. With a strong social conscience, he was courageous in the face of injustice, as Deans sometimes found to their cost.

“This is not the place for personal reminiscence, nor for a discussion of Alan’s wider, rich, and very full life. He was a passionate man of warm emotions, generous, kind, and thoughtful, who had a real zest for life. He will be much missed and our thoughts are with his family.”