Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Dias, Reginald Walter Michael (1921–2009), lawyer and President of Magdalene College, Cambridge
Parallel form(s) of name
- Reginald Walter Michael , LLB, Hon QC
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
3 March 1921 – 17 November 2009
History
Born into one of the leading Singhalese families (from the time of the Kingdom of Kandy onwards) – that of Dias Bandaranaike. ‘Mickey’ was a third-generation Law student at Trinity Hall, where his grandfather, F. R. Dias, was one of the earliest Asians admitted. His father became a High Court Judge in Ceylon.
Dias was elected a Fellow of Magdalene in 1955, when Asian Fellows were still a rarity in Cambridge. For almost half a century he was the presiding genius of Law in the College, and many of his pupils went on to become distinguished members of the bar and bench. He became President for three years in 1988 at the advanced age of 67, without holding any other previous College office except that of Director of Studies, though he served as Senior Proctor (1987-1988). A University Lecturer, his specialities were jurisprudence, Roman law, and the law of tort.
Further Reading:
Article: 'Forty Years On Mr Dias and Law in Magdalene, College Magazine, vol. 40 (1995-96) pp. 42-43
Obituary by R. Hyam, College Magazine, vol. 54, 2009-10, pp. 14-18