Tim Rix - Telegraph He joined Longman (then Longmans, Green) in 1958 and, after a stint in Malaya as publishing manager for the firm's Far East and South Asia operations, was appointed head of its English Language Teaching division in 1964. After his appointment as chief executive in 1976, he placed great emphasis on an export-led drive to expand this side of the business, overseeing the development of new English-language teaching materials and the publication of a pioneering series of reference works which drew on the ambitious Survey of English Usage, carried out in the early 1960s at University College London under the direction of Randolph (now Lord) Quirk. These included The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, first published in 1978 and now in its fourth edition; Quirk's Longman Dictionary of the English Language (1984); and The Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (1985) by Quirk, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech and Jan Svartvik. This was the first ever grammar of English as it is used in everyday life, rather than the traditional prescriptive grammar based on Latin and Greek models, and is regarded as a close to definitive account of the shifting currents of English usage. The son of an architect, Timothy John Rix was born on January 4 1934 and educated at Radley and Clare College, Cambridge. After two years" National Service as a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy, he spent a year at Yale as a Mellon Fellow before joining Longmans, Green in 1958. During his time at Longman, where he was appointed chairman in 1984, Rix served on the boards of Goldcrest Television (1981-83), the British Library and the British Council, as president of the Publishers" Association from 1982 to 1984 and as chairman of the Book Trust from 1986 to 1988. He also served on the board of Yale University Press, London, from 1984 to 2010, latterly as deputy chairman. The Press's London operation had begun publishing its own titles in 1973 alongside the books produced at Yale and, working with its managing directors John Nichol and Robert Baldock, Rix played an active role in helping to build up a successful and distinguished publishing list. Rix was far-sighted about developments in publishing, anticipating the process of consolidation which spelt the end for many smaller publishing houses as they were swallowed up by larger conglomerates. Yet he remained convinced that the small independent publisher had a future and, after his retirement from Longman, he served as honorary president of the Independent Publishers" Guild from 1993 to 2008, playing a key role in its development and serving on the boards of several IPG members. In the 1990s he chaired the British Library's Centre for the Book and British Library Publishing. He was a director of Blackwell's and, latterly, served as chairman of Edinburgh University Press. As chairman of Book Aid International from 1994 to 2006, Rix supported the charity through a period of financial difficulty when the Department for International Development cut its grant. He subsequently helped the charity to generate new streams of income from private donations. He was appointed CBE in 1997. His first marriage, to Wendy Wright, was dissolved, and in 1967 he married the book designer Gillian Greenwood, who survives him with their son and daughter and a daughter from his first marriage. Tim Rix, born January 4 1934, died November 8 2012