David Tall attended Wellingborough Grammar School (1952-1960) where he developed his life-long interests in music and mathematics. At age 18, he won an open scholarship to Oxford, obtaining a first-class honours degree in mathematics and the Junior Mathematics Prize. His first doctorate, a DPhil in mathematics at Oxford, with supervisor Professor
Michael Atiyah, was awarded for work on "The Topology of Group Representations." His leisure interests included rugby, classical music and orchestras. He formed the Meryfield Choral Society and played in the Wadham College Orchestra, going on to conduct the Oxford City Operatic Society in
Die Fledermaus. He was appointed lecturer in Mathematics at Sussex University in 1966, where he wrote his first text book
Functions of a Complex Variable and formed his own 'A Capella Choir and Orchestra'. A move to Warwick University in 1969 as a Lecturer in Mathematics (with special interests in Education) gave him more time to write textbooks with Ian Stewart, and in 1976 when the Coventry College of Education became part of the University of Warwick he began empirical research into students learning mathematics. He transferred to work in the Mathematics Education Research Centre in 1979 and became professionally qualified as a classroom teacher, and gained a second doctorate in education. Alongside his academic work, his love of music continued and he conducted the Leamington Spa Opera Group from 1969-1976, expanded a small madrigal group at University of Warwick into the Choro dei Cantori, became musical director of the Blue Triangle Operatic Society and for the Talisman Theatre Palace of Varieties. In 1972 he was invited to be the Principal Conductor of the Beauchamp Sinfonietta and conducted over 50 classical concerts. All his life he particularly loved the music of Frederick Delius, Percy Grainger and George Gershwin. He formed the Percy Grainger Society in 1977 and held the position of chairman for 5 years. In 1991 he was awarded the Bronze Medallion of the International Percy Grainger Society (New York) for scholarship and services to the music of Percy Grainger. From the 1970s he travelled abroad extensively to give seminars and plenaries at mathematics education conferences around the world. He was also a member of the Rotary Club of Kenilworth for 48 years, becoming president in 1983/84. He retired in 2006 while remaining linked to the University of Warwick as a Professor Emeritus in Mathematical Thinking and was still writing and publishing papers until shortly before his death. ==Bibliography==