Edward Murray Wrong (14 April 1889 – 15 February 1928) was a Canadian-born historian, vice-president of

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

(1924–25).

Biography

Known as Murray, he was the son of Canadian historian George MacKinnon Wrong, and of Sophia Hume Wrong, daughter of the politician

Edward Blake Dominick Edward Blake (13 October 1833 – 1 March 1912) was a Canadian politician and lawyer who was the second premier of Ontario from 1871 to 1872 and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1880 to 1887. He is one of three federal perm ...

. He was the brother of diplomat Humphrey Hume Wrong. He was educated at St Andrew's College, Toronto. Like all his siblings and his father, Wrong studied at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. He then proceeded to

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

as a commoner, where he was tutored by A. L. Smith, and obtained

first-class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

in modern history in 1913. In 1914, he was elected to a fellowship by examination at

, becoming the college's first Canadian fellow. In 1915, he was elected to the Beit Prize in Colonial History. Having been turned down for military service for health reasons, Wrong served as vice-principal of the

Manchester School of Technology The Manchester School of Technology (MST) is a high school located at 100 Gerald Connors Circle, in Manchester, New Hampshire, United States, part of the Manchester School District. In addition to the typical high school courses, Manchester ...

between 1916 and 1919. There, he was a successful administrator and teacher. He also served as a second lieutenant in the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

, attached to the School's

Officer Training Corps The University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), also known as the Officers' Training Corps (OTC), are British Army reserve units, under the command of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which recruit exclusively from universities and focus on ...

, from 22 January 1918 to 20 September 1918; he relinquished his commission on account of ill health. Following the end of the war, Wrong returned to Magdalen College, Oxford as an official fellow and

tutor Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...

in modern history in 1919. He was additionally Beit

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

in colonial history at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

from 1919 to 1924. He served as vice-president of Magdalen College from 1924 to 1925, and as the university's junior proctor from 1927 to 1928. Wrong died on 15 February 1928, aged 38. He had suffered

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

brought on by pneumonia.

Family

In December 1915, Wrong married Rosalind Grace Smith, sixth daughter of A. L. Smith (his old tutor and Master of

), at Holywell Church, Oxford. They had two sons and four daughters. Among his children were the historian

Rosalind Mitchison Rosalind Mary Mitchison FRSE (11 April 1919 – 19 September 2002) was a 20th-century English historian and academic who specialised in Scottish social history. She was affectionately known as "Rowy" Mitchison. Life Rosalind Mary Wrong was ...

and medical scientist

Oliver Wrong Professor Oliver Murray Wrong (7 February 1925 – 24 February 2012) was an eminent academic nephrologist (kidney specialist) and one of the founders of the speciality in the United Kingdom. From a background as a "salt and water" physician, he m ...

. His daughter Dr Elizabeth Catherine Wrong married the Labour politician

Peter Shore Peter David Shore, Baron Shore of Stepney, (20 May 1924 – 24 September 2001) was a British Labour Party politician and Cabinet minister, noted in part for his opposition to the United Kingdom's entry into the European Economic Community. H ...

. The British journalist

Michela Wrong Michela Wrong (born 1961) is a British journalist and author. She has written about Africa for over 20 years. She began her career covering European affairs before focusing on Africa, reporting on its Western, Central, and Eastern regions. ...

is his granddaughter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wrong, Edward Murray 1889 births 1928 deaths 20th-century British historians 20th-century Canadian historians Canadian expatriate academics in the United Kingdom University of Toronto alumni Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford Territorial Force officers British Army personnel of World War I Officers' Training Corps officers Historians of the University of Oxford