Keith Rutter (1957)

Emeritus Professor Keith Rutter (1957), who died in October 2024 after a short illness, was a world-renowned scholar and inspirational teacher of the history and coinage of ancient Greece. 

Keith was born in Manchester and attended Manchester Grammar School on a full scholarship. From there, he went to Queens’ to study Classics. While there he discovered a love of rowing (to be continued on the rowing machines in the University of Edinburgh gym until the age of 84), as well as excelling academically, receiving a first-class degree as well two prizes for Latin. A chance after-dinner conversation in Cambridge led to a lifelong love of ancient Greek coinage, beginning with a PhD at the University of London, on the coinage of Magna Graecia. This study was made possible due to generous funding, the importance of which Keith always recognised. After temporary positions in Vancouver [1965/6], Bristol [1968/70], and Liverpool [1970/1], Keith took up a permanent post in the department of Greek at Edinburgh in 1971, where he stayed till his retirement in 2004, having been awarded a Personal Chair in Greek History and Numismatics in 2002.

Keith’s contribution to the Classics at the University of Edinburgh was immense – he was an inspirational teacher and supervisor as well as a dedicated colleague, mentor and administrator. He remained a highly popular lecturer even after retirement, frequently returning to teach an Honours course on Greek Coins to new generations of students. He never lost his interest in the department, but retirement had the benefit of allowing him more time to speak and indeed teach numismatics further afield, including in Athens (both to undergrads & postgrads), as well as in Brazil (in Portuguese!).

The importance of Keith’s work in the field of Greek numismatics, particularly on the coins of the Western Greeks,  cannot be overstated. The book resulting from his PhD thesis on the coinage of Campania remains a standard work, as does his 1997 volume on the ancient Greek coinages of Italy. As well as these specialist, but much-used works Keith wrote more general books, not only Greek Coinage in 1983 but two further books, The Archaic and Early Classical Greek World: Using Coins as Sources, and Coins in the Achaemenid Empire, which were almost complete at the time of his death and are now being seen through publication by friends and colleagues. 

Keith’s contribution to and pre-eminence in the field of numismatics was recognised with the award of the Royal Numismatic Society’s medal in 2020. A notable facet of the ‘impact’ of his work is that it remains a key resource for the US Border Control in detecting illegal coin smuggling!

In 1969 Keith married Wendy Millen, a schoolteacher whom he had met at a primary school and they had a daughter, Catherine. Their home in Edinburgh was a wonderfully welcoming place and will be very warmly remembered by friends, former students and visitors of all kinds. He was an intrepid traveller, often with Wendy and Catherine. He and Wendy loved Syria and Iran, while he & Catherine enjoyed a number of high altitude treks, including to Pakistan & Tajikistan. At home, he made a regular contribution to the cultural life of the city, including to the Edinburgh branches of  both the Cambridge Society, and the Scottish Hellenic Society. He will be missed by many, across far and wide.

Written by Prof Lucy Grig, in collaboration with colleagues, and with Catherine Rutter.

Obituary written by Andrew Burnett, published in The Guardian.