Reginald_Macan

Reginald Walter Macan

Reginald Walter Macan

Irish classical scholar (1848–1941)

Reginald Walter Macan (1848 – 23 March 1941) was an Irish classical scholar.[2] He was educated at University College, Oxford, where he gained a First in Classical Moderations in 1869 and a First in Literae Humaniores ('Greats') in 1871.[3] He held a Fellowship at the college (1884–1906) and was appointed Master in March 1906.[4] He was only the second layman Master of the college after Anthony Gate, Master from 1584 to 1597.[5]

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Reginald Macan was originally from Dublin, Ireland, and retained his Irish accent until the 1890s. He was an undergraduate at University College, Oxford, and then a "Student" (the equivalent of a Fellow) of Christ Church after obtaining his degree.[6] He returned to University College as a Fellow and Tutor in 1884 until becoming Master of the college in 1906.[5] He retired in 1923.

Macan had a reputation as a heretic early in his career, but delivered addresses in the chapel at University College at least annually.[5] Like his predecessor as Master, J. Frank Bright, he was nicknamed the "Mugger" by students.

Macan applied archaeological discoveries to the study of ancient history. He produced a major set of books on Herodotus.[1]

In 1913, Reginald Macan visited New York and spoke at the Sphinx Club about Rhodes Scholars at Oxford University.[7]

In 1881, Macan married Mildred Healey;[8] they had three daughters, one of whom Agatha Perrin married Eric Forbes Adam.[9] He retired to Boars Hill, south of Oxford, and lived there till the age of 93.[5][6]

Maurice Greiffenhagen painted a formal portrait of Macan in academic dress, located at University College in Oxford.[10]

References

  1. [1]
    Macan, Reginald Walter (1895). Herodotus: the fourth, fifth, and sixth books. Macmillan & Co. – via Internet Archive.
  2. [2]
    "Reginald Walter Macan (1848-1941), Classical scholar". UK: National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  3. [3]
    "Oxford University Calendar 1895". Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1895. pp. 193, 313.
  4. [4]
    Darwall-Smith, Robin (2008). "Reginald Macan". A History of University College, Oxford. Oxford University Press. pp. 422–425. ISBN 978-0-19-928429-0.
  5. [5]
    Vidler, Denis (1979). "'The Last Master but Six' – Extracts from addresses given in the College Chapel by Dr. R. W. Macan". University College Record. Vol. VII, no. 5. pp. 259–267.
  6. [6]
    Bickerton, Fred (1953). Fred of Oxford. London: Evans Brothers Limited. pp. 131–133.
  7. [7]
    "Rhodes Scholar's Sneer: American Called Oxford "a God-Forsaken Place," Dr. Macan Says". The New York Times. 16 December 1913.
  8. [8]
    'MACAN, Reginald Walter’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2012; online edn, October 2012 accessed 28 December 2012
  9. [9]
    ADAM, Eric Graham Forbes’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2007 accessed 28 December 2012
  10. [10]
    Greiffenhagen, Maurice. "Reginald Walter Macan (1848–1941), Master (1906–1923)". Art UK. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
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