William Macneile Dixon (1866 – 31 January 1946) was a British author and academic.

Biography

Dixon was born in India, the only son of the Reverend William Dixon and attended Methodist College Belfast. He studied at

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 ...

, where he was twice Vice-Chancellor's Prizeman in English verse, Downes' Prizeman, and Elrington Prizeman, and graduated First-Class, with the First Senior Moderatorship, in the Modern Literature School, and Second Class, with the Junior Moderatorship, in the Mental and Moral Science School in 1890. He also took considerable part in the public life of the University: he was President of the

University Philosophical Society The University Philosophical Society (UPS; ), commonly known as The Phil, is a student paper-reading and debating society in Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1683 it is the oldest student, collegial and paper-reading society in th ...

, auditor of the

College Historical Society The College Historical Society (CHS) – popularly referred to as The Hist – is a debating society at Trinity College Dublin. It was established within the college in 1770 and was inspired by the club formed by the philosopher Edmund Bu ...

, and chairman of the students' committee for celebrations of the college's tercentenary. In 1891 he was appointed Professor of English Literature in Alexandra College,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, and was also a

Dublin University The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...

Extension Lecturer; and in 1894 he was elected Professor of English Language and Literature in the Mason Science College, afterwards Birmingham University. He was also Professor of Literature to the

Royal Birmingham Society of Artists The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists or RBSA is an art society, based in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, England, where it owns and operates an art gallery, the RBSA Gallery, on Brook Street, just off St Paul's Square. It is both a re ...

. He was chosen President of the Library Association of the United Kingdom in 1902, and re-elected in 1903. Lastly, on the transference of Professor

Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellion ...

to Oxford, Professor Dixon received the appointment to the Regius Professorship of English Language 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 1904 until 1935. In 1938 he was elected an honorary fellow of Trinity College Dublin. Besides articles in the '' Quarterly Review ''and other periodicals, Professor Dixon's publications included ''English Poetry from Blake to Browning''; ''A Tennyson Primer''; ''In the Republic of Letters''; a monograph on Trinity College, Dublin, in the College History Series; and ''The Human Situation'' (1937), a collection of his Glasgow Gifford lectures that sold its way into seven editions. This is a remarkable conspectus of man's place in the universe which ranges over a very wide field of scientific and philosophical inquiry.

Personal life

In 1891 he married Edith Wales, daughter of G. F. Wales, M.D., F.R.C.S.E. A ''Portrait of Mrs. Macneile Dixon'' was painted by the Birmingham artist

Kate Bunce Kate Elizabeth Bunce (25 August 1856 – 24 December 1927) was an English painter and poet associated with the Arts and Crafts movement. The daughter of John Thackray Bunce – a patron of Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and editor of the ''Bir ...

. He was a member of the

Royal Ulster Yacht Club The Royal Ulster Yacht Club is located in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland, on the south shore of Belfast Lough. History The club was established in 1866 as the Ulster Yacht Club, on the impetus of Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st ...

. While visiting Edinburgh, Dixon died on 31 January 1946.

References

"Biography of William Macneile Dixon"
in ''The University of Glasgow Story'', University of Glasgow. * George Eyre-Todd

in ''Who's Who in Glasgow 1909''. ''This article incorporates text from ''Who's Who in Glasgow 1909'' by George Eyre-Todd, a publication now in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

.''

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, William Macneile 1866 births 1946 deaths British literary critics People educated at Methodist College Belfast Academics of the University of Glasgow Honorary Fellows of Trinity College Dublin Ulster Scots people Academics from Northern Ireland Male non-fiction writers from Northern Ireland Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Academics of the University of Birmingham Auditors of the College Historical Society