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 Aus ...

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. w ...

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

St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Saint Patrick's Cathedral () in Dublin, Ireland is the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland cathedral in Dublin, is designated as the local cathedral of ...

, was born on 3 June 1848. He was educated at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, where he graduated B.A. in 1871 and M.A. in 1875, and

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, 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 foun ...

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

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

in 1875 as classical master for the Melbourne Church of England Grammar School 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 Victo ...

. 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 recognised 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 Anglican cathedral in Melbourne, Australia. It is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Melbourne and the seat of the Archbishop of Melbourne, who is also the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Victoria. ...

, 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 (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...

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 (journalist), James Smith, Jam ...

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. Longstaff was one of the most prolific portraitists of the Edwardian period, pain ...

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 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, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie and it is the hub of t ...

), R. Stephen (

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

), T. H. Armstrong (

Wangaratta Wangaratta ( ) is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city had a population of 29,808 per the 2021 Australian Census. The city is located at the confluence, junction of the Ovens River, ...

) and W. C. Sadlier (

Nelson, New Zealand Nelson () is a List of cities in New Zealand, city and Districts of New Zealand, unitary authority on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay at the top of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the oldest city in the South Island and the second-old ...

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 (politics), Speaker in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 1875–1883. Allen was held in high esteem. As speaker he sho ...

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 Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are ...

(1887-1935), born at Melbourne and educated at

Melbourne Grammar School Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian private school, private Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and senior s ...

, 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 Sir Reginald "Rex" Wilding Allen Leeper (25 March 1888 – 2 February 1968) was a British civil servant and diplomat. He was the founder of the British Council. Born in Sydney, Australia, Leeper was educated at Melbourne Grammar School, Melb ...

, 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 ...

, 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 People from the Colony of Victoria Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Australian educators