Jason Arday, a former professor of sociology of education at the University of Cambridge, has been found dead at an address in Battersea, south London.
Emergency services said a man was found "unresponsive" on Friday afternoon. Police have described the death as sudden, but do not believe it is suspicious.
Arday, 41, resigned from his post at Cambridge last week following allegations of plagiarism and questions over some of his academic achievements. He denied the allegations, while admitting that some of his earlier work contained errors.
His family said they were "shocked" by his loss and described Arday as a "wonderful father, partner, brother, uncle and son."
According to the family, "the misinformation campaign was too much for Jason," whom they describe as a gentle man who always sought to see the good in others.
The controversy erupted after academic Nathan Cofnas, who had previously been dismissed from Cambridge, claimed to have discovered numerous instances of plagiarism in Arday's work, the BBC writes.
Liverpool John Moores University, which awarded Arday his doctorate in 2015, investigated the allegations and concluded that he had not committed plagiarism.
Arday had said that some of the errors in his early works were related to his autism and the way he processed information.
"I have not killed anyone. The cruelty I have experienced and the way I have been portrayed as a liar and a fantasist is completely unacceptable," he told the Times.
In announcing his resignation, Arday said the personal cost of public scrutiny had become "too great."
"The relentless accusations, speculation and public commentary have caused deep damage to me and the people I love," he wrote, stressing that resigning did not mean accepting the charges.
Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Deborah Prentice said the university was “extremely saddened” by the news and expressed its condolences to his family. Cambridge had also launched an independent investigation into how Arday was appointed to the professorship.
His friend and professor Kehinde Andrews said that Arday was "very depressed" after the resignation, that he no longer left the house and had lost a lot of weight.
Arday became the youngest black professor in Cambridge's history in 2023, at the age of 37. He began his career as a physical education teacher and later became a professor at Durham, Glasgow and Cambridge. /Telegraph/
