William Sharp McKechnie (2 September 1863 – 2 July 1930) was a Scottish scholar, historian, lecturer in

Constitutional Law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a State (polity), state, namely, the executive (government), executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as th ...

and History, and author of ''

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...

: A Commentary on the Great Charter of King John with an Historical Introduction''. He later held the Chair of Conveyancing 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 1916 until 1927. Upon his retirement, he was awarded an honorary LL.D.

Biography

Born in

Paisley, Scotland Paisley ( ; sco, Paisley, gd, Pàislig ) is a large town situated in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Located north of the Gleniffer Braes, the town borders the city of Glasgow to the east, and straddles the banks of the White Cart Wate ...

to William McKechnie on 2 September 1863, McKechnie studied at the University of Glasgow. He was awarded an MA in philosophy from the University of Glasgow in 1883, having been awarded prizes in logic, moral philosophy and natural philosophy. He completed his

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1887, and a

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in 1897, having qualified as a solicitor in 1890. In 1894 he became a lecturer in Constitutional Law and History at Glasgow, and the same year married Elizabeth Cochrane Malloch, daughter of the late John Malloch. He continued to serve as a lecturer until his appointment to the Chair of Conveyancing in 1916. McKechnie died on 2 July 1930.

Works

His essay on the

, published in 1905 with a re-edition in 1914, first translates and then examines in great detail the individual sections of this constitutional piece of legislation; prior to McKechnie's work, it had not undergone review since 1829. The work was very favourably reviewed by

DNB Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

historian HWC Davis, who considered his translations of the original Latin text to be particularly valuable. McKechnie's work, particularly his ''Magna Carta'' essay, was identified by

Herbert Butterfield Sir Herbert Butterfield (7 October 1900 – 20 July 1979) was an English historian and philosopher of history, who was Regius Professor of Modern History and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He is remembered chiefly for a shor ...

as a primary factor in the undermining of

Whig history Whig history (or Whig historiography) is an approach to historiography that presents history as a journey from an oppressive and benighted past to a "glorious present". The present described is generally one with modern forms of liberal democracy ...

. His thoughts on ''The State and the Individual'' were acceptable with reservations to the early Fabian intellectual

Sidney Ball Sidney Ball (20 April 1857 – 23 May 1918) was a British academic and socialist activist. Born in Pershore, Ball was educated at Wellington College and then Oriel College, Oxford, where he graduated with a First in Classical Moderations (1 ...

. His 1909 work to reform the House of Lords earned a favourable review, and influenced the

Parliament Act 1911 The Parliament Act 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5 c. 13) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is constitutionally important and partly governs the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two Houses of Parlia ...

;

Corinne Comstock Weston __NOTOC__ Corinne may refer to: Places * Corinne, Saskatchewan, Canada, an unincorporated community * Corinne, Oklahoma, United States, an unincorporated community * Corinne, Utah, United States, a town * Corinne, West Virginia, United States, a ...

considered him a highly influential constitutional thinker of the period.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKechnie, William Sharp 1863 births 1930 deaths Scottish scientists English legal writers Scottish legal writers British legal writers Scottish legal scholars