John Duncan Mackie CBE MC (1887–1978) was a distinguished Scottish historian who wrote a one-volume history of Scotland and several works on early modern Scotland.

Biography

Born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Mackie was educated at Middlesbrough High School and

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

, where he took a first-class degree in history and won the Lothian Essay Prize. He was appointed as a lecturer in history at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

in 1909, aged 22. While at the university he introduced the subject of Scottish history into the curriculum.''A History of Scotland'', revised ed., Penguin, 1977 During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he served in the

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

and was awarded a

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

. He was wounded in both the stomach and in the shoulder. In both cases he received innovative treatment. For the stomach wound (caused by a machine-gun) he was treated at a military hospital in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...

. Sterilised water was dripped right through his stomach and he recovered well. The shoulder wound was received in the last days of the war. He nearly had to have his arm amputated but he opted for a new treatment in which the nerve was knotted. However, he never regained full use of his left hand and suffered considerable pain for the remainder of his life. He returned to St Andrews after the war, before being appointed professor of modern history at Bedford College,

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

, in 1926. He was Professor of Scottish History and Literature at the

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

from 1930 to 1957. It was during these years that he wrote ''The Earlier Tudors 1485-1558'' (Oxford University Press). An influential volume, ''The Earlier Tudors'' was a new analysis of Tudor administration – the business of government. In 1957 he retired, and was appointed

Historiographer Royal Historiographer Royal is the title of an appointment as official chronicler or historian of a court or monarch. It was initially particularly associated with the French monarchy, where the post existed from at least 1550, but in the later 16th and 1 ...

for Scotland. Mackie returned to the University of Glasgow lecture hall in 1961 in the capacity of emeritus professor. He died in

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south west Surrey, England, around south west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill, they comprise the civil parish of Haslemere in ...

in 1978 and was buried at Grayswood church. His medals are in the regimental museum of the

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological ...

. The

Letters Patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, tit ...

appointing him Historiographer Royal were sent to the Hunterian Museum at the University of Glasgow

Bibliography

*''Pope Adrian IV, Oxford'', 1907 (Blackwells) *''Negotiations Between James VI and I and Ferdinand I of Tuscany'', 1927 *''Cavalier and Puritan'', 1930 *''Andrew Lang and the House of Stuart'', 1935 *''The Complete Scotland: A Comprehensive Survey, Based on the Principal Motor, Walking, Railway and Steamer Routes'', 1949 *''The Earlier Tudors, 1485–1558'', 1952 *''The University of Glasgow, 1451–1951: A Short History'', 1954 *''A History of the Scottish Reformation'', 1960 *''A History of Scotland'', 1964

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackie, J.D 20th-century Scottish historians 1887 births 1978 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Academics of the University of St Andrews Academics of Royal Holloway, University of London Academics of the University of Glasgow British Army personnel of World War I Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders officers Recipients of the Military Cross Writers from Edinburgh Historians of Scotland Academics from Edinburgh