I just saw on Jim Davila's blog that Geza Vermes has passed away. I only met him once, when he spoke at Barnard College at the invitation of Alan Segal. He was immensely polite and, while a bit quiet, was very engaging.
He will be best known for his work on the Dead Sea Scrolls, especially his affordable English translation, which was my own introduction to the Scrolls, as well as his extensive work on Christian origins and the historical Jesus.
UPDATE (5/8/2013): I just saw that Mark Goodacre has some reflections here, including some important notes on his contributions to the study of Jesus. He has more here and here.
UPDATE (5/9/2013): James Tabor has further reflections here.
UPDATE (5/10/2013): I just saw that James Crossley has some provocative thoughts on how Jesus and NT scholars more generally have been both profoundly impacted by Vermes (even when we don't know) and have in many ways failed to learn the lessons Vermes teaches in his books.
UPDATE (5/13/2013): Martin Goodman has a good, extensive obituary on the Wolfson College website.
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