Former Master of Dunster House Gordon M. Fair Dies at Age 75

Gordon M. Fair '16, former dean of Engineering and internationally-known expert in sanitary engineering, died Wednesday evening at Mount Auburn Hospital. Fair, who was 75 years old, had developed many close ties with members of the College during his 14 years as Master of Dunster House.

A native of South Africa, Fair earned an S. B. degree from both Harvard and M. I. T. in 1916, joining the Faculty two years later. In 1935, he became the Gordon McKay Professor of Sanitary Engineering.

In 1946, Fair became dean of the Graduate School of Engineering, reorganizing the school as the present Division of Engineering and Applied Physics, which he headed from 1946 to 1951.

Fair served as Master of Dunster House from 1948 to 1962.

As assistant director of sanitation for the League of Red Cross Societies and a member of the sanitary engineering panel of the World Health Organization, Fair helped to make American knowledge of sanitation available to less-developed areas of the world. He also served as a member of the National Advisory Health Council of the U. S. Public Health Service.

At Harvard, Fair formed an interdepartmental group which utilized computers for determining the most feasible development and uses for rivers.

After his retirement from the Faculty in 1965, Fair served on several governmental commissions studying Great Lakes and New England water pollution problems, heading a research project on improvement of sewerage systems. For his efforts, the Water Pollution Control Federation in 1968 awarded him the Gordon Maskew Fair Medal, which had been established in his honor.