Following the death of Sir Anthony Kenny on 3 August, aged 95, The Times carried a lengthy ­obituary chronicling his outstanding achievements as an Oxford philosopher and academic leader: master of Balliol, pro-vice-chancellor of the university, warden of Rhodes House, president of the British Academy, chair of the British Library, and more.

The accompanying photograph showed Tony (as he was known to friends and colleagues) tweed-jacketed, with books and antique prints behind him, reaching slightly forward at his desk with an expression suggesting a smile preparatory to voicing a judicious and constructive observation. The image is as comfortable, amiable and reassuring as was Tony himself. While his crystal-clear intellect, insightful imagination and profound learning carried him to the top in several academic and cultural fields, he remained unassuming, measured and eirenic.

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