Ray Monk is a British biographer who is renowned for his biographies of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Bertrand Russell, and J. Robert Oppenheimer. He is emeritus professor of philosophy at the University of Southampton, where he taught in various capacities from 1992 to 2018. Ray graduated with an MA in Philosophy from the University of York in 1979. Later he obtained an MLitt from the University of Oxford.

He won the 1990 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the 1991 Duff Cooper Prize for his acclaimed biography of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius. His two-volume biography of Bertrand Russell appeared in 1996 and 2001. His biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer was published in 2012.

Since 2012 he has occasionally written for the New Statesman, contributing articles on philosophers and on veganism. In 2015 he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Ray will talk about the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, and his portrayal in the 2023 movie.

Tea or coffee at 10:30 will be followed by the talk, and then lunch which will be a hot buffet from a wood burning oven followed by a selection of cakes. Lunchtime drinks, including tea and coffee, are available from the bar.

Please use the attached Booking Form