Derek L. T. Gill
Derek L. T. Gill was a notable figure born in 1919 in Kampala, Uganda, as the son of a missionary. He pursued his education in England, first at the University of London and then at Cambridge University, before serving as a captain in the British army during World War II, where he gained diverse experiences across Africa, Europe, and Asia. Following the war, Gill had a successful career in journalism, working as an editor for various newspapers in South Africa, including the Daily Representative and the Pretoria News, before eventually moving to Los Angeles. In the 1970s, he transitioned into writing, co-authoring several biographical works, including those about sailor Robin Graham and blind author Tom Sullivan. His most acclaimed work is "Quest: The Life of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross," published in 1980, which explores the life of the influential psychiatrist known for her contributions to the understanding of death and grief. Gill's writing was characterized by its detailed storytelling, though some critiques noted a lack of deeper insight into his subjects' complexities. He passed away in 1997 in Redondo Beach, California.
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Derek L. T. Gill
Writer
- Born: December 23, 1919
- Birthplace: Kampala, Uganda
- Died: June 9, 1997
- Place of death: Redondo Beach, California
Biography
Derek L.T. Gill, the son of a missionary, was born in Kampala, Uganda, in 1919. He left Uganda in 1938 to study at the University of London, and in 1939 and 1940 he pursued his graduate studies at Cambridge University. Gill joined the British army in 1940. During his four years of military duty, he served in Africa, Europe, and Asia and attained the rank of captain. In 1945, he married Erica Elizabeth McPherson, with whom he had three children.
Gill moved to South Africa to work as an editor for the Daily Representative from 1948 until 1960. He then became the city editor at the Pretoria News, remaining there until 1963, when he took a job as an editor of World, a daily newspaper based in Johannesburg. In 1966, Gill and his family moved to Los Angeles, where he was a senior editor at Pace magazine. He left the magazine in 1970 to work as a researcher for author Irving Stone.
After years of editing and conducting research for other writers, Gill started to pursue his own writing career in the 1970’s. In 1972, he published his first book, Dove, cowritten with Robin Graham; the following year, the two published a children’s book, The Boy Who Sailed Around the World Alone. Both books were biographical accounts of Graham’s solo round-the-world sailing trip. In addition to his books with Graham, Gill worked with Tom Sullivan, who was blind, to write two biographical books about Sullivan: I Can See Clearly Now (1974) and If You Could See What I Hear (1975). Gill also wrote Tom Sullivan’s Adventures in Darkness (1976).
Gill’s best-received book was Quest: The Life of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (1980), a biography of the psychiatrist who wrote numerous books about death, dying, and the grieving process. Some critics praised Gill’s biography for its objectivity and detail, while others said he failed to uncover the “mystery” of his subject’s life. Gill died in 1997 in Redondo Beach, California.