Tribute to Jon Hodge

I first met John back in the late 1980's when I returned from London and started playing tennis once more at the Spa Tennis Club in Harrogate. I remember him for his hard serve and his tremendous enthusiasm. I liked him immediately. I loved good conversation and you could talk to John about absolutely anything. I had also met some members of another local club at Birstwith whilst playing for the team. And John soon became involved in our many friendly games we played indoors at both Ilkley and  Chapel Allerton in Leeds. What I also loved was our after game meet ups, usually in the pub afterwards, where we had many conversations about everything. Music, tennis and politics were often thoroughly gone through. I was always interested in his views on the U.S as I had been to the states three times myself. As John did not at that time have a television he also used to come round to my house to watch Wimbledon when it came round. We had many enjoyable sessions watching the great players of the time.However it was as a friend that John stepped up for me. I had lost my father in 1969 and to be fair no man older than me had ever stepped into the void that had been left. All those years later I always felt comfortable talking to John about issues or going over decisions that I had to make in my life. I mean this in all sincerity that although he was not old enough to be my father figure he did become someone I could trust with my inner thoughts.He also gave me much support in my tennis life. Each year whilst living in Harrogate I would enter the Ilkley Tennis Club Tournament. My family had lived in Ilkley when I was growing up and I always went back to enter his event. John not only would sometimes practice with me before my matches but he also came and watched when he was able to. I had never had any support like this in my life. It meant the world to me.After I moved over to Lytham St.Annes in Lancashire in 2000 we kept in touch. I came over to Harrogate on a number of occasions when we went out to lunch together and caught up with news and views. It was always the same. We just picked up where we had left off. John also came over to St.Annes to visit me with another of my old tennis pals from Birstwith, Russ Gaunt. The last time I saw John was May 17th 2024. I had called round after staying the previous night in Harrogate. I called in unannounced and as usual John was delighted to see me. We sat and talked starting off with health issues. This is something that we men do now when we are getting older !! I remember  John saying " you don't want to get older". Too many things start going wrong. We both laughed. I stayed for well over an hour.As usual he enquired what I was doing and I told him about my "touchtennis" sessions that I was coaching back in St.Annes. He was fascinated and as luck would have it I had the rackets and balls in the back of my car. I gave him a demo and as he was looking at getting back into some kind of manageable activity he showed a great interest. I later learned from Anne that they both had followed this up but had found nowhere that played it. Its a great sport that attracts people of all abilities who can still play racket sports. With a light sponge ball and small racket it lends itself to anyone who has suffered injuries or moves around the court slower that they once did. How I wish I had been local and been able to set up something for John. He would have loved it.Thank you John for so many great memories. So much fun, understanding and laughter. Mixed in with the need to be serious when the situation required it. Thank you for your energy and knowledge. You will always remain my good friend. Rest in Peace. 

I remember John fondly ads a great and generous colleague, and one of the most interesting historians of evolutionism this side of the Channel. My first interaction with him was memorable. As a postdoc at Exeter, I co-organized the fourth conference on the cultural history of heredity there, and Hans-Jörg Rheinberger and I thought it would be wonderful to have Jonathan Hodge. He was indeed a lively presence at the conference, and since we had built the whole project around our appreciating for François Jacob's book on "the logic of life", Jon did not hesitate to express his disdain for this book in unmistakable terms. Yet he remained a respectful and productive companion of this project and an important source of inspiration for our own book, which eventually would come out of our project.

I graduated with Single Honors HPS in 2005 so was an undergraduate with Jon shortly before he retired. He was a co-supervisor for my dissertation. I lived with my friend Nic, who was also supervised by Jon. He used to phone the landline in our shared house to see how our studies were going – talking to us each in turn. He was so engaged in our studies. I remember being incredibly stressed about the complexity of my dissertation. I had a session in his office when I was rather overwhelmed and got quite upset. He looked at me kindly, and with his steady, calm, warm voice – gently told me that I was further ahead in my dissertation than any student he’d ever known at this stage of their final year. He told me I needed some time away from these ideas. He said I should leave Leeds for the day, not think about this and do something totally different. I walked out of his office, puffy eyed but reassured. I bumped into a friend and told him about the meeting I'd just had in Jon's office, and that I needed to get out of Leeds. He was free. We got on the train to Harrogate and had tea at Betty’s. I came back to Leeds that evening feeling much better. Thank you Jon, for teaching me, from a very young age, to take a step back if it all gets too much. You were such a wise, insightful, kind teacher.  Rosie Stanbury (Née Tooby)    

When I read Jon's work in graduate school, I was so impressed, I was very intimidated. I expected him to be a very serious and stern man, when and if I got the opportunity to meet and talk with him in person. Yet, when we met (I honestly don't remember when, it may have been over 20 years ago now), he was so kind, gentle, and generous with his time and with his ideas. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to learn from him, in more ways than merely academic. He was a great scholar, but also a wonderful example. (Anya Plutynski, aplutyns@wustl.edu) 

I have many fond memories of Jon marching in front of a large academic audience with nothing in his hands--no notes, no outline, no computer, no powerpoint, no clicker, no pointer, no overhead projector sheets, no handouts, no nothing. He just didn't need them.  With nothing but a spot-on thesis, a photographic memory of the science and history, and a collection of terrific stories, he'd pace back and forth and hold court in a way that left the audience spellbound. Nobody did it like Jon. The history and philosophy of science community has lost a giant mind and personality, but his legacy will endure. Thank you, Jon!