Sir David Lindsay Keir (22 May 1895 – 2 October 1973) was a British historian and educator. From 1949 to 1965, he was

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

Life

Keir was born at

Bellingham, Northumberland Bellingham ( ) is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, to the north-west of Newcastle upon Tyne and is situated on the Hareshaw Burn at its confluence with the River North Tyne. Features Famous as a stopping point on the Pennine Way t ...

, the eldest of six children to William Keir and Elizabeth (Craig) Keir. His Scottish father was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister, originally from

Aberuthven Aberuthven (; Gaelic: ''Obar Ruadhainn'') is a small village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies approximately northeast of Auchterarder and southwest of Perth at an elevation of . It lies on the A824 road, formerly the A9, having been ...

, and moved several times during Keir's childhood, from Bellingham to

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

, and finally

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, where Keir attended the

Glasgow Academy The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational independent day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2016, it had the third-best Higher level exam results in Scotland. Founded in 1845, it is the oldest continuously fully independent ...

, an

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

. In 1913, he began a degree at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, but the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

interrupted his studies and he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own ...

. He rose to the rank of captain. He was wounded twice, once on the Somme and once at Arras. In 1919, he also served in Southern Ireland. After the war, he returned to university, at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, where he studied history, obtaining a first class degree in 1921. Keir was elected a Fellow of

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

in 1921, and served as a very young Dean 1925 to 1935. From 1931 until 1939, he lectured in English Constitutional History. He was a visiting tutor at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1923–24. In 1939, he was appointed president and vice-chancellor of

Queen's University, Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

, where he remained until 1949. In this role, he was responsible for a major expansion of the university from 1945 to 1949. Keir received a knighthood in 1946, for his service at Queen's University. In 1959, a building of the extended Queen's University campus, the David Keir Building, was named after him. From 1942 to 1949, he was Chairman of the Northern Ireland Regional Hospitals Board. In 1949, Keir was elected Master of

, bringing him back to England. He stayed in that position until retirement in 1965. He died at home at

Boar's Hill Boars Hill is a hamlet southwest of Oxford, straddling the boundary between the civil parishes of Sunningwell and Wootton. Historically, part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. History The earliest kn ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

on 2 October 1973.Dictionary of National Biography 1971-1980

Family

He married Anna Clunie Dale, daughter of Robert John Dale, a

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

shipping underwriter, in 1930. They had one son and one daughter.

Publications

*''Cases in Constitutional Law'' (1928) *''The Constitutional History of Modern Britain'' (1938)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keir, David Lindsay Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of New College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I Knights Bachelor Fellows of University College, Oxford Masters of Balliol College, Oxford Vice-Chancellors of Queen's University Belfast 1973 deaths 1895 births 20th-century British historians People from Bellingham, Northumberland King's Own Scottish Borderers officers