James Strachan-Davidson

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James Strachan-Davidson
Portrait by George Reid, c. 1911
Born
James Leigh Strachan

(1843-10-22)22 October 1843
Byfleet, Surrey, England
Died28 March 1916(1916-03-28) (aged 72)
Oxford, England
Burial placeHolywell Cemetery, Oxford
Occupations
  • Classical scholar
  • President of the Oxford Union
  • Master of Balliol College, Oxford

James Leigh Strachan-Davidson (

Master of Balliol College, Oxford
, from 1907 until his death in 1916.

Early life

James Leigh Strachan was born in

Byfleet, Surrey, southern England, to James Strachan, a Scottish merchant, and Mary Anne Richardson. He was the eldest among three brothers and had a half-sister from his father's first marriage. His mother died while they were still children and his father remarried.[1] In 1861, he and his father took the surname of Davidson[2] when the family inherited a small estate in Ardgaith, Perthshire.[3]

Education and career

Strachan-Davidson was enrolled at Leamington College at the age of eleven as day-boy.

Literae Humaniores (1866).[9] He actively participated in the Oxford Union, held the posts of secretary and librarian, and was appointed as the president of the society in 1867.[10][11]

He was appointed as the Classical tutor at

master of Balliol College,[17] in 1907; a position he held until his death in 1916.[18][19]

In 1899, he was appointed by the

Arabic to men appointed to the Egyptian and Sudanese civil service in 1903–04.[20]

Political views

Over the course of his many debates as part of the Oxford Union, he spoke in favour of the

Schleswig-Holstein question.[21] He was firmly liberal on the matter of education and University reform and espoused the importance of character and attainments over party adherence for University representatives.[23]

He was consulted extensively by the Civil Service Commissioners during the reformation of the entrance examination of the Indian Civil Service.[24] He believed that the mental and moral discipline, wide view and grasp of fundamentals granted by the study of Literae Humaniores was crucial to the Service and drew up a memorandum to that effect, for its Royal Commission in June 1913.[25]

Personal life

Strachan-Davidson was devoted to his work at Balliol College and never married. He believed that the college should be as "wife and children" to a fellow of the college.[26] He was a friend of the English author Paul Ferdinand Willert[27] and was godfather to his daughter, Dorothy.[28] He was also close to his family doctor Robert Slack whose daughter Mary was his godchild.[29] He had another goddaughter, Margaret Bowlby, daughter of Henry Bowlby of Lancing College.[30] His closest friend was his contemporary, the English classical scholar Evelyn Abbott, with whom he spent most of his vacations.[31]

Death and legacy

Strachan-Davidson died on 28 March 1916 due to

cerebral hemorrhage caused by atherosclerosis and was buried in Holywell Cemetery in Oxford. A bronze tablet was placed in Balliol Chapel in his commemoration.[19]

He had acquired around 1500 to 1600 Greek and Roman coins during his many visits to Egypt, Italy, and Sicily. They mainly dated to the Macedonian, Ptolemaic, and Imperial Roman periods. This collection was

bequeathed to Balliol College upon his death, and then given to Ashmolean Museum as per his wishes.[23]

Selected works

Books

Articles

  • "The Growth of Plebeian Privilege at Rome", The English Historical Review, Vol. 1, No. 2 (1886)
  • "The Decrees of the Roman Plebs", The English Historical Review, Vol. 5, No. 19 (1890)
  • "Mommsen's Roman Criminal Law", The English Historical Review, Vol. 16, No. 62 (1901)
  • "Ancient Imperialism – II. Roman Republic",
    The Classical Review
    , Vol. 24, No. 4 (1910)

References

  1. ^ Mackail 1925, p. 10.
  2. ^ Davis & Smail 2004.
  3. ^ a b Procter 1992.
  4. ^ Mackail 1925, p. 11.
  5. ^ Mackail 1925, p. 12.
  6. ^ Mackail 1925, p. 16.
  7. ^ Mackail 1925, p. 19.
  8. ^ OU 1895, p. 177.
  9. ^ OU 1895, p. 305.
  10. ^ a b Mackail 1925, p. 20.
  11. ^ Foster 1893, p. 63.
  12. ^ Mackail 1925, p. 33.
  13. ^ Mackail 1925, p. 32.
  14. ^ Mackail 1925, p. 69.
  15. ^ J. A. S. 1916, p. 125.
  16. ^ Mackail 1925, p. 105.
  17. ^ Mackail 1925, pp. 94–95.
  18. ^ Salter & Lobel 1954.
  19. ^ a b Mackail 1925, p. 123.
  20. ^ Mackail 1925, pp. 88–89.
  21. ^ a b Mackail 1925, p. 21.
  22. ^ Mackail 1925, pp. 21–22.
  23. ^ a b Mackail 1925, p. 22.
  24. ^ Otte 2011, p. 14.
  25. ^ Mackail 1925, p. 84.
  26. ^ Mackail 1925, pp. 56–57.
  27. ^ Hopkins 2015, p. 140.
  28. ^ Mackail 1925, p. 24.
  29. ^ Mackail 1925, p. 76.
  30. ^ Mackail 1925, p. 98.
  31. ^ Mackail 1925, p. 30.
  32. ^ Tilley, Arthur (October 1888). "Review of Selections from Polybius edited by James Leigh Strachan-Davidson". The English Historical Review: 767–770.
  33. ^ Macan, R. W. (February 1889). "Review of Selections from Polybius edited by James Leigh Strachan-Davidson". The Classical Review: 30–32.

Sources

Wikisource has original works by or about:
James Strachan-Davidson
Academic offices
Preceded by Master of Balliol College, Oxford
1907–1916 		Succeeded by
Arthur Lionel Smith
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