Charles Randolph Quirk, Baron Quirk (12 July 1920 - 20 December 2017), was born at Lambfell farm near Kirk Michael and educated at Douglas High School before a distinguished academic career in English linguistics. He founded the Survey of English Usage at University College London in 1959, held the Quain Professorship of English there from 1968 to 1981, and served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of London from 1981 to 1985; his co-authored A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (1985) remains a standard reference work. He was knighted in 1985 and created a life peer in 1994.