John MacNie (c. 1844 – 31 October 1909), also known by his pen name Ismar Thiusen under which he wrote the novel '' The Diothas'', was an educator and science fiction writer. Born in Scotland in about 1844, he came to America in 1867 where he first obtained a job teaching Greek and Latin at a preparatory school in Newberg, New York.

Biography

Originally from

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

, MacNie was educated at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

; he received an honorary M.A. degree 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 ...

in 1874. He was a professor at the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

for two decades; he was hired as professor of English, French, and German in 1886, and retired as professor of French and Spanish languages and literature during 1906. The University of North Dakota's MacNie Hall was named after him. MacNie published ''A Treatise on the Theory and Solution of Algebraic Equations'' in 1876, and ''Elements of Geometry, Plain and Solid'' in 1895. He died in Hennepin,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

References

American science fiction writers Scottish science fiction writers People from Stirling Alumni of the University of Glasgow University of North Dakota faculty Scottish emigrants to the United States American male novelists 1840s births 1909 deaths 19th-century American novelists 19th-century American male writers {{US-sf-writer-stub