Sir Geoff Palmer: Scotland’s Trailblazing Intellectual Giant Passes at 85

Sir Geoff Palmer, Scotland’s first black professor and a towering figure in science and human rights, has died aged 85. The Heriot-Watt University Chancellor and professor emeritus passed away on June 11, 2025, leaving a legacy as a pioneering academic, activist, and humanitarian.

Born in St Elizabeth, Jamaica, in 1940, Sir Geoff moved to London at 14 as part of the Windrush Generation. He studied botany at the University of Leicester before completing a PhD in grain science and technology jointly with Heriot-Watt College and the University of Edinburgh in the 1960s. He became Scotland’s first black professor in 1989 and retired in 2005, later appointed Chancellor of Heriot-Watt in 2021.

A distinguished scientist, Sir Geoff invented the barley abrasion process, revolutionizing malting in brewing. His work earned him the American Society of Brewing Chemists Award of Distinction, regarded as the Nobel Prize of brewing. Beyond science, he was a passionate human rights advocate, authoring influential works on race relations and slavery, and chairing Edinburgh’s Slavery and Colonialism Legacy Review Group. His efforts led to calls for the city council to formally acknowledge Edinburgh’s role in slavery.

Knighted in 2014 for services to human rights, science, and charity, Sir Geoff was also Jamaica’s first Honorary Consul in Scotland and received the Jamaican Order of Distinction (Commander Class) in 2020. In 2024, King Charles III appointed him to Scotland’s highest chivalric order, the Order of the Thistle.

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Scottish Labour MSP Foysol Choudhury described him as a “father figure” and “courageous voice for justice and equality,” while Heriot-Watt’s Vice-Chancellor praised his “infectious enthusiasm and passion for education.” Sir Geoff’s legacy endures through his family, students, and the countless lives he inspired.

He is survived by his wife Margaret, their three children, and grandchildren.