George F. French ’50

George died Nov. 5, 2018, in Oakland, Calif.

He graduated from The Thatcher School of Ojai, Calif. At Princeton he was a varsity diver and a member of Cloister. He studied physics. He “voluntarily (but ill-inspired!)” left Princeton during his senior year, but not before his 28-day, solo transcontinental bicycle ride in June 1949.

In 1952 he enlisted in the Army Language School, where he was immersed for a year in Russian and graduated at the top of his class. Leaving the Army, he earned a degree in Slavic languages at the University of California, Berkeley. He then sold the Encyclopedia Britannica door-to-door for two years, spent a year and a half at law school, and finally, as an inventor of mechanical systems, formed a corporation, Franklin Research.

After unsuccessfully promoting his teaching machine, he returned to Berkeley, where he earned a master’s degree in educational psychology and did doctoral work in measuring speed-reading skills. At our 25th reunion, he reported he had returned to “the full-time invention game.”

George was an accomplished marathoner and master chess player. His reunion bios described his activities in the Berkeley free-speech movement. He remained a proficient Russian interpreter and translator throughout his life.

He is survived by four children. His two marriages ended in divorce.