Robert Morrison MacIver (April 17, 1882 – June 15, 1970) was a sociologist.

Early life and family

Robert Morrison MacIver was born in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

on April 17, 1882, to Donald MacIver, a general merchant and

tweed Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...

manufacturer, and Christina MacIver (née Morrison). His father was a

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

, specifically, Scottish Presbyterian. On 14 August 1911 he married Elizabeth Marion Peterkin. They had three children: Ian Tennant Morrison, Christina Elizabeth, and Donald Gordon.

Education

He received degrees from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

(M.A. 1903; D.Ph. 1915), the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

(B.A. 1907), and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

(Litt.E. 1929) and Harvard (1936). In his rather long period of formal education, he had never made any academically supervised study of sociology. His work in that field was distinguished by his acumen, his philosophical understanding, and extensive study of the major pioneering works of Durkheim, Levy-Bruhl, Simmel and others in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

Library in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, while resident as a student in Oxford.

Career

He was a university Lecturer in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

(1907) and sociology (1911) at the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

. He left Aberdeen in 1915 for a post at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

where he was Professor of Political Science and later Head of Department from 1922 to 1927. MacIver was vice chairman of the Canada War Labor Board from 1917 to 1918. In 1927 he accepted an invitation from

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, where he became professor of Social Science from 1927 to 1936. He was subsequently named Lieber Professor of Political Science and Sociology at Columbia University and taught there from 1929 to 1950. He was president, beginning in 1963 until 1965, and then chancellor of

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

for Social Research from 1965 to 1966. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

, and the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. He was a member of the American Sociological Society, and was elected as its 30th President in 1940. He was a member of the

Institut International de Sociologie The International Institute of Sociology (IIS) is a scholarly organization which seeks to stimulate and facilitate the development, exchange, and application of scientific knowledge to questions of sociological relevance. Membership is open to all ...

and of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

Activism

In the 1950s, MacIver was activist at

Boris Gourevitch Boris Gourevitch (July 8, 1889—April 4, 1964) was a noted author and peace activist. His ''The Road to Peace and to Moral Democracy'', earned him to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 and again in 1959.

's the

Union for the Protection of the Human Person Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

. Among its activities, with

Albert Simard Albert Charles Joseph Simard ''Albert C. J. Simard(ca. 1891 — May 2, 1973New York State Journal of Medicine. (1973). United States: Medical Society of the State of New York. p. 2918 South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

on equality.

Bibliography

*''Community: A Sociological Study'', (1917) *
Labor in the Changing World
', (1919) *''Elements of Social Science'', (1921) *''The Modern State'', (1926) *''Relation of Sociology and Social Work'', (1931) *''Society'' 1st Edition (textbook), (1931) *''Economic Reconstruction'', (1934) *''Towards an Abiding Peace'', (1935) *''Society'' 2nd Edition (textbook), (1937) *''Leviathan and the People'', (1939) *''Social Causation'', (1942) *Foreword to

Karl Polanyi Karl Paul Polanyi (; hu, Polányi Károly ; 25 October 1886 – 23 April 1964),''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. 2003) vol 9. p. 554 was an Austro-Hungarian economic anthropologist and politician, best known ...

's '' The Great Transformation'' (1944) *''The Web of Government'', (1947) *''The More Perfect Union'' (1949) *''The Ramparts We Guard'' (1950) *
The Pursuit of Happiness A Philosophy For Modern Living
' (1955) *
Society'' 3rd Edition (textbook)
With

Charles Page Charles Page (June 2, 1860 – December 27, 1926) was a businessman and important philanthropist in the early history of Tulsa, Oklahoma. After his father died when Page was an 11-year-old boy in Wisconsin, he left school early to try to help sup ...

, (1959) *''The Nations and the United Nations'' (1959) *''Life: Its Dimensions and its Bounds'' (1960) *''The Challenge of The Passing Years'' (1962) *''Power Transformed'' (1964) *''The Prevention and Control of Delinquency'' (1966) *''As a Tale That Is Told: The Autobiography of R. M. MacIver'' (1968)

Sources

Entry in: ''A Dictionary of Sociology'', George Marshall (Ed.), 1998, Oxford University Press, Curriculum vitae provided by MacIver to the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches in 1950, in box 428.11.01.1 of the archives of the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland (http://library.oikoumene.org/en/home.html)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maciver, Robert Morrison 1882 births 1970 deaths American sociologists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Aberdeen Presidents of the American Sociological Association The New School faculty Columbia University faculty University of Toronto faculty Canadian sociologists Scottish sociologists Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy