W. Keith Leask (16 April 1857 – 2 May 1925) was a writer and a classics lecturer at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

. He wrote several biographies and works in classics.

Biography

Leask was born in the parish of Old Machar in Old Aberdeen on 16 April 1857. He was the son of James Leask who attended

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Abredonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Universi ...

1844-6 and was an advocate in Aberdeen. His mother was Mary Ann Allan. Leask attended Aberdeen Grammar School and graduated M.A. at the

in 1877. He then studied at 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 ...

and graduated first class Class. Mods. at

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 ...

in 1879 and second class Litt. Hum. in 1881. He was employed by the

as assistant to W D Geddes, Professor of Greek from 1882 to 1887. He returned to Oxford from 1889 to 1894 but was not offered a permanent post. Blair, in his

Obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

of Leask, suggests that he should have gone to London and devoted himself to journalism. But Leask returned to Aberdeen and earned his living by writing books and articles for newspapers such as the

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

. He died of heart disease at his lodgings at 82 Union Grove, Aberdeen on 2 May 1925. Leask was not married.

Published works

*''

Hugh Miller Hugh Miller (10 October 1802 – 23/24 December 1856) was a self-taught Scottish geologist and writer, folklorist and an evangelical Christian. Life and work Miller was born in Cromarty, the first of three children of Harriet Wright (''b ...

.'' Edinburgh:

Oliphant, Anderson and Ferrier Oliphant, Anderson and Ferrier was a Scottish publishing company based in the national capital Edinburgh. It produced many hundreds of books mainly on religious and biographical themes, especially during its heyday from about 1880 to 1910. It is ...

, April 1896, ( "Famous Scots Series") *''

James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 (New Style, N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary the Englis ...

.'' Edinburgh:

, December 1896, ( "Famous Scots Series") *''Dr Thomas M'Lauchlan,'' with Introduction by Principal Rainy. Edinburgh:

, 1905 *''Musa Latina Aberdonensis: Poetae Minores''. Volume Three, edited by W.K. Leask. Aberdeen: Printed for the New Spalding Club, 1910 *''Interamna Borealis: Being Memories and Portraits from an old University Town between the Don and the Dee''. Aberdeen: Rosemount Press, 1917 *''Presentation of Portrait of Mr. W. K. Leask to Aberdeen Grammar School, 21 October 1922''. Aberdeen: Rosemount Press, 1923.This list of books is compiled by reference to the British Library online catalogue and other online library catalogues. *'The Record Class', ''The Aberdeen University Review'', March 1924, Vol. XI, No. 32, pp. 97–113

Sources

*www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk *''Roll of the Graduates of the University of Aberdeen, 1860–1900''. Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 1906 *''University Calendar of Aberdeen University'', available at Special Libraries and Archives, Library and Historic Collections, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen AB34 3SW *P. J. Blair, 'William Keith Leask' bituary ''The Aberdeen University Review'', Volume XII, 1924–25. Aberdeen University Press, 1925, pp. 231–8, available at Special Libraries and Archives, Library and Historic Collections, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen AB34 3SW *www.bl.uk

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leask, William Keith 1857 births 1925 deaths Academics of the University of Aberdeen People from Aberdeen Scottish biographers Scottish non-fiction writers Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of the University of Oxford