Dr
Noel Q King is no more
Sikh world is saddened by the passing away of a great Sikh
scholar Dr. Noel Q. King (12-9-22 to 2-1-09). He was a professor
emeritus of history and comparative religion at University
of California at Santa Cruz.
Noel was an Anglo-Indian, born in Rawalpindi in 1922, educated
in Simla, Oxford , and Nottingham . He served in the British
Army during the second world war, mostly dropping air supplies
over Burma , then went to St. Peter's in Oxford to study
history and theology. After his D. Phil and ordination,
he was hired by first Ghana and then Uganda , to help set
up departments of religious studies in the new universities
of Accra and Makerere. He came to the new University of
California campus in Santa Cruz in 1967, with the same purpose.
Noel
taught at UCSC until his retirement in 1991, in religious
studies and history. The Noel Q. King Lecture was established
after King's retirement in 1992 to honor the popular teacher
and respected scholar. King was instrumental in providing
foundation courses and a comparative framework for those
interested in religious studies major as well as those students
who just wanted to learn about religion in an academic setting.
This annual lecture is presented by the Committee for the
Advancement of Religious Studies at UCSC and the Santa Cruz
Hillel Foundation.
Sikh
world has known Dr. King for his scholarly contributions
for many years. He travelled to Pakistan, India and many
other places to collect data for his publications on Sikhism.
Further he made presentations on Sikh topics at many conferences
and seminars. More than once he was a visiting scholar at
the Guru Nanak University in Amritsar and Punjabi University
in Patiala. In 1995, the World Sikh Convention bestowed
upon him an honor in the form of Siropa. His commitment
to Sikhee and the Sikh world was from the deep of his heart
and unquestionable.
He is survived by his wife, Laurie; six children scattered
from Santa Cruz to England and Australia ; eleven grandchildren;
and 4 great-grandchildren. He is also remembered by the
generations of students around the world whose lives he
touched.
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