Alexander Gordon "Sandy" McKay, (December 24, 1924 – August 31, 2007) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

academic who specialized in Vergilian studies. Born in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, McKay graduated from

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an independent day and boarding school for boys in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as Canada's most prestigious preparatory school, and ha ...

in 1942. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1946 from 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 ...

, a Master of Arts degree in 1947 from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, a A.M. degree in 1948 from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

and a Ph.D. in 1950 from Princeton. He started his academic career as an instructor at Princeton University from 1947 to 1949. He then taught at Wells College (1949-1950), the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

(1950-1951), the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

(1951-1952),

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Mount Allison was the first university in the British Empire to award a baccal ...

(1952-1953),

Waterloo College Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...

(1953-1955), and again at the University of Manitoba (1955-1957). He started teaching at

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

in 1957. He was appointed an associate professor in 1959, a full professor in 1961, and retired as a Professor Emeritus in 1990. He was chair of Classics from 1962 to 1968 and from 1976 to 1979. From 1968 to 1973, he was the founding dean of the Faculty of Humanities. He was president of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

from 1984 to 1987. After his retirement from

in 1990, he taught at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

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as adjunct professor of humanities from 1990 until 1996.

Honours

In 1965, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He was a recipient of the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal () is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is physically identical in all realms where it was awarded, save for Canada ...

, the Canadian Centennial Medal, and the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal. In 1988, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in recognition for being a "distinguished scholar, educator and humanitarian". He received honorary degrees from the University of Manitoba (1986), Brock University (1990), Queen's University (1991), McMaster University (1992), and the University of Waterloo (1993).

Selected works

* ''Naples and Campania'', 1962 * ''Victorian Architecture in Hamilton'', 1967 * ''Vergil's Italy'', 1970 * ''Ancient Campania'', Vols. I and II, 1972 * ''Houses, Villas, and Palaces in the Roman World'', 1975 * ''Vitruvius, Architect and Engineer'', 1978 * ''Römische Häuser, Villen, und Paläste'', 1980 * ''Roma Antiqua, Latium & Etruria'', 1986

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Alexander Gordon 1924 births 2007 deaths Canadian university and college faculty deans Academic staff of McMaster University Officers of the Order of Canada Academics from Toronto Princeton University alumni University of Toronto alumni Upper Canada College alumni Yale University alumni Wells College faculty Canadian expatriates in the United States