Johnston, R. J.

Synopsis: Ron Johnston has proved one of geography’s most prolific, and, ultimately, authoritative figures over four decades. In the course of his career, Johnston has shown how techniques of spatial science can illuminate our understanding of electoral politics, and, in so doing, has become an exponent of a particular form of quantitative geography. Yet his research has always been diverse in its breadth and range, taking in topics from urban social segregation through to the geographies of bell-ringing (one of his personal interests). A veritable polymath, he has also completed multiple organizational roles as editor, head of department, and a University vice-chancellor. But Johnston will perhaps be most widely known for his attempts to recount the story of post-war human geography and document its disciplinary fashions and fads.