Alexander Leeper (3 June 1848 – 6 August 1934), was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal ...

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. Alexander Leeper, the son of the Rev. Alexander Leeper, canon of

St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Saint Patrick's Cathedral ( ir, Ard-Eaglais Naomh Pádraig) in Dublin, Ireland, founded in 1191 as a Roman Catholic cathedral, is currently the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland cat ...

, was born on 3 June 1848. He was educated 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 graduated B.A. in 1871 and M.A. in 1875, and

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pr ...

where he took a first-class BA in Literae Humaniores in 1874. Leeper came to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in 1875 as classical master for the

Melbourne Church of England Grammar School (Pray and Work) , established = 1849 (on present site since 1858 - the celebrated date of foundation) , type = Independent, co-educational primary, single-sex boys secondary, day and boarding , denomination ...

but in the following year was made principal of

Trinity College (University of Melbourne) Trinity College is the oldest residential college of the University of Melbourne, the first university in the colony of Victoria, Australia. The college was opened in 1872 on a site granted to the Church of England by the government of Vict ...

. The title of his office was afterwards changed to warden. He was not completely successful from the beginning, at one stage there was a revolt which ended in the expulsion of several students, but it became recognized that Leeper was devoted to the college, which he controlled with success for the remainder of his 42 years of office. Leeper also took an important share in the management of the university as a member of the council from 1880 to 1887 and 1900 to 1923. He resigned his position as warden of Trinity in 1918, but continued to be a prominent figure in Melbourne for many years longer as a member of the council of education, as a lay canon of

St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in Melbourne, Australia. It is the cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, Diocese of Melbourne and the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, Archbishop of Melbour ...

, and as a trustee of the public library, museums and

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited ar ...

of which he was president from 1920 to 1928. He was also a leading spirit in the

Melbourne Shakespeare Society The Melbourne Shakespeare Society was founded in Melbourne, Australia, in 1884 at the suggestion of Edward Ellis Morris who was president from 1884 to 1888. Other original members included: William Ievers, James Smith, James Edward Neild (presid ...

and the Classical Association. He was a great fighter on the North of Ireland side in all controversies relating to Irish questions. He died at Melbourne on 6 August 1934. An excellent portrait by

John Longstaff Sir John Campbell Longstaff (10 March 1861 – 1 October 1941) was an Australian painter, war artist and a five-time winner of the Archibald Prize for portraiture. His cousin Will Longstaff was also a painter and war artist. Longstaff was known ...

is in the

at Melbourne. Beyond some lectures and pamphlets, his only publication was his translation of ''Thirteen Satires of Juvenal'', originally prepared in conjunction with

Herbert Augustus Strong Herbert Augustus Strong (24 November 1841 – 13 January 1918) was an Australian scholar, professor of comparative philology and logic at the University of Melbourne. G. R. Manton,Strong, Herbert Augustus (1841 - 1918), '' Australian Dictionary ...

in 1882, but afterwards revised and issued under his own name. Trinity College, Dublin, gave him the degree of LL.D. The first Latin play and the first Greek tragedy to be performed in Australia were produced under his direction at Trinity College, Melbourne. Five of his students became bishops in the Anglican Church: J. Stretch and George Merrick Long (

Newcastle, Australia Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area ...

), R. Stephen ( Hobart), T. H. Armstrong (

Wangaratta Wangaratta ( ) is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city had an estimated urban population of 19,318 at June 2018. Wangaratta has recorded a population growth rate of almost 1% annually ...

) and W. C. Sadlier (

Nelson, New Zealand (Let him, who has earned it, bear the palm) , image_map = Nelson CC.PNG , mapsize = 200px , map_caption = , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = ...

Personal life

He was married twice, first to Adeline Marian, daughter of Sir

George Wigram Allen Sir George Wigram Allen (16 May 1824 – 23 July 1885) was an Australian politician and philanthropist. He was Speaker in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 1875–1883. Allen was held in high esteem. As speaker he showed dignity, court ...

and later to Mary Elizabeth, daughter of F. G. Moule, who survived him with three sons and four daughters. Two of the sons had distinguished careers: the elder, Alexander Wigram Allen Leeper (1887-1935), born at Melbourne and educated at

Melbourne Grammar School (Pray and Work) , established = 1849 (on present site since 1858 - the celebrated date of foundation) , type = Independent, co-educational primary, single-sex boys secondary, day and boarding , denomination ...

, the University of Melbourne and at Oxford, eventually entered the British Foreign Office and rose to be the first secretary at H.M. legation at Vienna 1924–8, and counsellor 1933. He broke down under the strain of his work in 1934 and died in January 1935. He had nearly completed ''A History of Medieval Austria'', which was published by the Oxford University Press in 1941. His brother, Reginald Wildig Allen Leeper, born at Sydney in 1888 and educated at Melbourne Grammar School and the universities of Melbourne and Oxford, also entered the foreign office and diplomatic service. He was the first secretary at Warsaw, 1923–4; Riga, 1924; Constantinople, 1925; Warsaw, 1927–9; counsellor, 1933; C.M.G., 1936; assistant under-secretary, 1940; ambassador at the court of the King of the Hellenes, 1943; K.C.M.G. 1945; ambassador to the Argentine Republic, 1946.

Valentine Leeper Valentine Alexa Leeper (14 February 1900 – 26 July 2001) was an Australian classicist, teacher, polemicist, and letter-writer of renown. Life Valentine Leeper was born on Valentine's Day 1900 in the Leeper Building of Trinity College at the Un ...

, Leeper's eldest child by his second marriage, became a classicist, teacher, polemicist (like her father), and letter-writer of renown.Marion Poynter, ''Nobody's Valentine: Letters in the Life of Valentine Alexa Leeper, 1900-2001'', Miegunyah Press, Melbourne, 2008.

Footnotes

References

* * John Poynter, ''Doubts and Certainties: A life of Alexander Leeper'', Melbourne University Press, 1997.
Trinity College Website

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leeper, Alexander 1848 births 1934 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Australian educators