Douglas Buchanan

This page is to honour and celebrate the life of Douglas Buchanan, a man who dedicated his life to education, charity work, and inspiring young minds in mathematics.

It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of Douglas Buchanan in May 2024 after a short illness bravely borne.

Douglas contributed 93 “Maths beyond the Textbooks” pieces to our Maths Week Newsletter. The wisdom of a lifetime of teaching was evident in his writing;  containing useful advice, sharing interesting ideas and posing perplexing puzzles.

Douglas was born and educated in Zimbabwe and taught there for seven years before arriving in England in 1981. He taught at Eagle House School for 29 years and retired in July 2010. After retirement, he continued his involvement with mathematics traveling around Britain hosting his popular DCBeagle challenges. He came to Maths Week Ireland in 2012 and was an important part of Maths Week each year since, traveling to all parts of the island over the years including Dublin, Mallow, Dundalk, Letterkenny, Derry~Londonderry, Belfast, Cavan, Galway, Sligo, Athlone, Thurles, Maynooth, Waterford Carlow, Kildare. Douglas also visited many special schools. He met each audience with enthusiasm and was always very patient and encouraging.

Douglas was a keen rambler and was involved in a lot of volunteer work. He will have had a lasting effect on thousands of young people and their teachers.  He will be sadly missed at Maths Week Ireland.

His legacy lives on through the countless students he inspired, the communities he served, and the contributions he made to the world of mathematics. Doug Buchanan will be remembered as a kind-hearted, dedicated, and inspirational figure who made a lasting impact on those around him. May he rest in peace knowing that his work has made a difference in the lives of so many.

Douglas was a contributor to our Maths Week newsletter with a column “Maths outside the Textbook” which ran since December 2014. These contained words of wisdom, puzzling challenges and useful links for teachers. Many of these can be accessed in the News section of this website.