THE LARGEST private donor to Oxford University in its entire 900-year history has died aged 79.

James Martin gave £150m to the institution, the biggest gift ever by any individual to any university in Britain.

The donation by the Pulitzer Prize-nominated author established the Oxford Martin School, which was set up to address the global challenges of the 21st century.

In 2006 Dr Martin, who was also an honorary fellow of Keble College, was given the Sheldon Medal, the highest honour Oxford University can bestow.

Dr Martin’s vision was that his new school would be a unique, interdisciplinary research community that would build a new methodology for problem solving.

The school now has more than 30 institutes and projects, with 300 post-doctorate scholars, covering everything from tackling climate change to the possibilities of quantum physics.

James Martin was born in Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire on October 19, 1933.

He attended his local grammar school before winning a physics scholarship to Keble College, Oxford.

After graduating, he did national service, before joining IBM in 1959.

There he worked on the world’s first computers. His experience led him to publish his first book, Programming Real-Time Computer Systems, in 1965.

In 1977 Dr Martin took 12 months off from IBM to write his best-selling book, The Wired Society, which predicted the internet. Within a year, he earned $1m and was nominated for the Pulitzer prize. His success convinced him to strike out alone, turning him into one of the world’s best-selling computing writers.

Dr Martin advised the Government on reshaping the UK’s telecommunications.

He was an honorary fellow of the Royal British Institution and held honorary degrees from all six continents.

In 1997 he bought Agar’s Island, in Bermuda, where he lived with third wife Lilian. His body was found floating off his island on June 24. The Bermuda Police Service said his death was not suspicious.

He is survived by his wife and a daughter. His funeral will be held in Vermont.