{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}} {{Use British English|date=January 2017}} {{Infobox officeholder |honorific_prefix = Sir |name = Fraser Noble |honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|MBE}} |image = |caption = |order = |title = Principal of the University of Aberdeen |term_start = 1976 |term_end = 1981 |predecessor = Sir Edward Maitland Wright |successor = George Paul McNicol |title2 = Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester |term_start2 = 1962 |term_end2 = 1976 |predecessor2 = Sir Charles Wilson |successor2 = Sir Maurice Shock |birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1918|04|19}} |birth_place = Cromdale, Strathspey, Scotland |death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2003|08|21|1918|04|19}} |death_place = Nairn, County of Nairn, Scotland |education = Nairn Academy |alma_mater = University of Aberdeen |profession = Academic, and university administrator |spouse = {{marriage|Barbara Sinclair|1945}} |children = 2 }} Sir '''Thomas Alexander Fraser Noble''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MBE}} (29 April 1918 – 21 August 2003) was a Scottish academic. He was former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester and then Principal of the University of Aberdeen.<ref name="Scotsman obit">{{cite web|title=Fraser Noble obituary|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/sir-fraser-noble-1-662745|website=The Scotsman|accessdate=22 October 2016}}</ref>
==Early life== He was born in Cromdale in Strathspey, Scotland. His father was Simon Noble of Grantown-on-Spey in the former Moray, and his mother was Jeanie Graham from Largs in North Ayrshire. His father died when he was eight. He had a brother. He attended Nairn Academy. He went to the University of Aberdeen when aged only 16. He graduated with a degree in Classics in 1938. He did military service with the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment).
==Career== ===University of Leicester=== In 1962 he became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester at the age of 43. The University of Leicester now has the Fraser Noble Building.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://escalate.ac.uk/downloads/5624.pdf |title=Fraser Noble Building |access-date=22 October 2016 |archive-date=22 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222043256/http://escalate.ac.uk/downloads/5624.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1962 the university had 1,500 students and two faculties of Arts and Sciences. By the time he left, the university had five faculties and 6,000 students. Thanks to him, the Royal Commission on Medical Education (1965–68) in its 1968 report decided that the university needed a medical school. From 1970-72 he was Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals of the Universities of the United Kingdom (now known as Universities UK).
thumb|right|Fraser Noble building at the University of Aberdeen
===University of Aberdeen=== From 1948 to 1957 he lectured in Political Economy (Economics) at the University of Aberdeen. He drew up the constitution for the Scottish Economic Society. He became the Principal of the University of Aberdeen in 1976. The university, like Leicester, has a Fraser Noble Building.
==Personal life== He was knighted in the 1971 Birthday Honours. He married in 1945 and they had a son and a daughter. His wife taught Maths at Nairn Academy. He enjoyed playing golf. He lived in Nairn for the last 22 years of his life.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/sir-fraser-noble-37115.html ''Independent'' obituary September 2003] * [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1439898/Sir-Fraser-Noble.html ''Telegraph'' obituary August 2003]
{{S-start}} {{s-aca}} {{S-bef|before= Sir Edward Maitland Wright}} {{S-ttl|title= Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen|years= 1976 - 1981}} {{S-aft|after= George Paul McNicol}} {{S-bef|before= Charles Wilson }} {{S-ttl|title= Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester|years= 1962 - 1976 }} {{S-aft|after= Maurice Shock }} {{S-bef|before= }} {{S-ttl|title= Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals|years= 1970 - 1972 }} {{S-aft|after= }} {{S-end}}
{{Principals of the University of Aberdeen}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noble, Fraser}} Category:1918 births Category:2003 deaths Category:Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Category:Black Watch soldiers Category:People educated at Nairn Academy Category:People from Badenoch and Strathspey Category:People from Nairn Category:Principals of the University of Aberdeen Category:Vice-chancellors of the University of Leicester Category:Scottish military personnel Category:British Army personnel of World War II Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire