Douglas Dunn: key obituary facts
Is Douglas Dunn dead? Yes. Douglas Dunn died on October 16, 2026, at age 83.
Cause of death: Douglas Dunn's cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
What was Douglas Dunn known for?
He was a Scottish poet (b1942).
More about Douglas Dunn
Born: 23 October 1942.
Place of birth: Inchinnan.
Gender: male.
Occupation: poet, librarian, translator, university teacher, writer, literary critic.
Nationality: United Kingdom.
Education: University of Hull.
Employer: University of St Andrews.
Awards: Officer of the Order of the British Empire, Cholmondeley Award, Eric Gregory Award, Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, King’s / Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Somerset Maugham Award, Hawthornden Prize.
Also known as: Douglas Eaglesham Dunn.
Douglas Eaglesham Dunn, the Scottish poet, academic and critic, died on October 16, 2026, aged 83.
Born in Inchinnan on October 23, 1942, he trained at the Scottish School of Librarianship and worked as a librarian before pursuing studies at the University of Hull. He graduated with a first-class honours degree and later worked in Hull’s Brynmor Jones Library under the poet Philip Larkin.
Dunn was friendly with Larkin and admired his poetry. From 1991, Dunn was Professor of English at the University of St Andrews, becoming director of its Scottish Studies Centre in 1993. He held the post until retiring in September 2008, then remained at St Andrews as an honorary professor and continued supervising postgraduate students in the School of English. He also served on the Scottish Arts Council from 1992 to 1994. His distinctions included the Eric Gregory Award, Cholmondeley Award, Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, Somerset Maugham Award and Hawthornden Prize. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and received the King’s or Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry.