(later Chief Executive), UK Meteorological Office (1983–91) Director Appleton, Science and Engineering Research Council (also Deputy Director, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory)(1979–83) Professor of Atmospheric Physics, Oxford University (1973–83). He was knighted in 1991. Houghton was an Honorary Scientist of the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research at the Met Office (since 2002); Honorary Scientist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (since 1991); a Trustee of the Shell Foundation (since 2000); Chairman of the John Ray Initiative (since 1997) and in 2013 was announced as an Advisory Board member for Sure Chill Technology. He moved back to Wales and lived in Aberdyfi. In 2007 he criticised the controversial documentary The Great Global Warming Swindle for its inaccuracies. He died of complications from COVID-19 on 15 April 2020, aged 88. Awards and honours Albert Einstein World Award of Science (2009) Japan Prize (2006) International Meteorological Organization Prize (1998) American Meteorological Society, Honorary Member (1998) Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1995) Global 500 Award, under the United Nations Environmental Programme (1994) Bakerian Lecture of the Royal Society (1991) Knight Bachelor (1991) Symons Gold Medal, Royal Meteorological Society (1990) Richard Glazebrook Medal and Prize, Institute of Physics, (1990) William Gaskell Medal of the Royal Meteorological Society, (1983) The Chree medal and prize (1979) President of the Royal Meteorological Society (1976–1978) Elected Fellow of the Royal Society (1972) He received Honorary Doctorates of Science from the Universities of Wales (1991), Stirling (1992), East Anglia (1993), Leeds (1995), Heriot-Watt (1996), Greenwich (1997), Glamorgan (1998), Reading (1999), Birmingham (2000), Gloucestershire (2001), Hull (2002) and Dalhousie (2010). He was an Honorary Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, University of Wales, Aberystwyth and of University of Wales, Lampeter and was also a Founding Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales. Legacy A metal sculpture of Sir John Houghton was erected in Rhyl in 2013, together with figures of two other local celebrities, Don Spendlove and Mike Peters. Selected publications Does God Play Dice? 1988, Intervarsity Press Global Warming, the Complete Briefing, 1994, Lion Publishing (2nd edition 1997, Cambridge University Press; 3rd edition 2004, Cambridge University Press; 4th edition 2010, Cambridge University Press; 5th edition 2015, Cambridge University Press) The search for God; can science help? 1995, Lion Publishing Physics of Atmospheres, 1977. 2nd edition 1986, 3rd edition 2002, Cambridge University Press. Climate Change, the IPCC Scientific Assessment, eds J.T. Houghton, G.J. Jenkins and J.J. Ephraums, 1990, Cambridge University Press