James Johnston Auchmuty, , (29 November 1909 – 15 October 1981) was an Irish born historian and inaugural vice-chancellor of the

University of Newcastle, Australia The University of Newcastle (UON), informally known as Newcastle University, is a public university in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1965, it has a primary campus in the Newcastle suburb of Callaghan. The university al ...

Early life

Auchmuty was born in

Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...

, Ireland, the elder son of James Wilson Auchmuty, a

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

clergyman, and his wife Annie Todd (''née'' Johnston). James Johnston Auchmuty graduated from

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

(BA, 1931; MA, 1934; Ph.D., 1935), having been elected a scholar of the university in 1929. He was elected auditor of the College Historical Society for 1931–32. Auchmuty was schoolmaster at Sandford Park School from 1934 to 1936 and lectured in education at Trinity College 1938 to 1943.

MI6 and Egypt

Due to poor eyesight Auchmuty was unable to join the armed forces, however he was recruited by

MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

and performed intelligence work and pro-British cultural propaganda in Ireland. Auchmuty decided to leave Ireland after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to avoid being interned for working on non-Irish interests. He then worked as an associate professor of history at Farouk I University at

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

teaching and continuing his work of political reporting and propaganda until the overthrow of King Farouk in 1952.

Career in Australia

British intelligence contacts then found Auchmuty a position as senior lecturer in history at the

New South Wales University of Technology The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

, Sydney (later the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

) where he moved later in 1952. He was no longer an intelligence operative. In 1954

Philip Baxter Sir John Philip Baxter (7 May 1905 – 5 September 1989) was a British chemical engineer. He was the second director of the University of New South Wales from 1953, continuing as vice-chancellor when the position's title was changed in 1955. Un ...

, the university’s director, sent Auchmuty, as associate professor, to head the school of humanities and social sciences at

Newcastle University College The University of Newcastle (UON), informally known as Newcastle University, is a public university in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1965, it has a primary campus in the Newcastle suburb of Callaghan. The university als ...

. In 1955 he was promoted to professor of history and deputy-warden of the University College, becoming warden in 1960 and foundation vice-chancellor when the college gained autonomy as the University of Newcastle in 1965.

Awards and memberships

Auchmuty was elected as a fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

in 1938. He was a foundation member (1956) and chairman (1962 to 1965) of the Australian Humanities Research Council and a foundation fellow (1969) and member (1969–70) of the council of its successor, the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australia ...

. Active in the Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee (chairman, 1969–71), Auchmuty was also a council member (1967 to 1974) of the

Association of Commonwealth Universities The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) was established in 1913, and has over 500 member institutions in over 50 countries across the Commonwealth. The ACU is the world's oldest international network of universities. Its mission is ...

and was awarded its Symons medal in 1974. From 1973 to 1976 he chaired the Australian National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. He was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1971 and in 1974 was awarded honorary degrees by the universities of Sydney (D.Litt.), Newcastle (D.Litt.), and Trinity College, Dublin (LL D). On retirement from the University of Newcastle in 1974, the Library and the sports centre were named after him, in honour of two of his particular interests. He and his wife then moved to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. Auchmuty died in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, survived by his wife, a son and daughter; a younger son had died in infancy.

External links

Photograph "Professor — James Auchmuty at the University of Newcastle, Australia"Photograph — "James Auchmuty with R.G. Keats and B.H. Neumann"
taken September 1974

References

* Kenneth R Dutton, ''Auchmuty: The life of James Johnston Auchmuty (1909–1981)'', Brisbane: Boombana Publications, 2000, {{DEFAULTSORT:Auchmuty, James 1981 deaths 1909 births Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Historical Society 20th-century Irish historians People from Portadown Scholars of Trinity College Dublin 20th-century Australian historians University of Newcastle (Australia) faculty University of New South Wales faculty Irish emigrants to Australia