English professor and former department chair Martin Evans died at his campus home Sunday night after a long battle with illness, according to an email sent to English majors by Department Chair Gavin Jones Wednesday morning.

Professor Evans specialized in Renaissance literature, especially the poetry of John Milton, in addition to his interest in travel literature.

Evans, who was born in Cardiff, Wales, in 1935, came to Stanford as an Assistant Professor in 1963 after earning his B.A., M.A. and D.Phil at Oxford University. He was the Associate Dean of Humanities and Sciences from 1977-1981, the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the English Department from 1981-1986 and the Chairman of the English Department from 1988-1991.

During his time at Stanford, he was honored with the Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1985, the Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1988 and the Richard W. Lyman award for faculty volunteer service to the Alumni Association and Stanford University in 1990.

The Milton Society of America selected Evans as an Honored Scholar in 2004.

“As many of you will remember, professor Evans was a remarkably vibrant and dedicated teacher who especially loved to teach undergraduates,” Jones wrote in the email.

For further details, please read Evans’ obituary.