right , 235px , James Main Dixon, 1902 James Main Dixon

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(1856, Paisley – 27 September 1933) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

teacher and author, and an important scholar of the Scots language.

Life

He was born in Paisley in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

the son of Rev J. M. Dixon. He graduated MA from the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

in 1879, and was appointed scholar and tutor of

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

there in the same year. Dixon spent almost 12 years in Japan from 1880 to 1892. He was

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and secretary of the

Imperial College of Engineering The Imperial College of Engineering (工部大学校, ''Kōbudaigakkō'') was a Empire of Japan, Japanese institution of higher education that was founded during the Meiji era. The college was established under the auspices of the Ministry of P ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, from 1879 to 1886, when he was called to the Imperial University of Japan in the same capacity. There he taught Hidesaburo Saito and

Natsume Sōseki , born , was a Japanese novelist. He is best known for his novels ''Kokoro'', ''Botchan'', ''I Am a Cat'', ''Kusamakura (novel), Kusamakura'' and his unfinished work ''Light and Darkness (novel), Light and Darkness''. He was also a scholar of Br ...

. While

was in the 2nd year of his undergraduate program at

Tokyo University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

Dixon requested him to translate

Hōjōki , variously translated as ''An Account of My Hut'' or ''The Ten Foot Square Hut'', is an important and popular short work of the early Kamakura period (1185–1333) in Japan by Kamo no Chōmei. Written in March 1212, the work depicts the Buddhi ...

. Later on based on Sōseki's translation Dixon produced a new English translation of this work and also authored an article comparing Kamo no Chomei, the author of

and

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poetry, Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism, Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Balla ...

br>
Among his other contributions in Japan, he is credited with the rediscovery (together with his friend,

Alexander Croft Shaw Alexander Croft Shaw M.A. (26 June 1846 – 13 March 1902) was a minister of the Anglican Church of Canada. He is remembered as Archdeacon Shaw, minister to the British Legation in Tokyo and a leading figure in the early years of the Anglica ...

), of former

Nakasendō The , also called the ,Richard Lane, ''Images from the Floating World'' (1978) Chartwell, Secaucus ; pg. 285 was one of the centrally administered Edo Five Routes, five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected the ''de facto'' ...

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in t ...

Karuizawa is a resort town located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 20,323 in 9897 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Originally, there was a stage station ( ...

, and its popularization as a summer resort. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

in 1885. His proposers were Robert Flint, John Duns, William Swan, and his brother-in-law

Cargill Gilston Knott Cargill Gilston Knott FRS, FRSE LLD (30 June 1856 – 26 October 1922) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was a pioneer in seismological research. He spent his early career in Japan. He later became a Fellow of the Royal Society, ...

. From 1892 to 1901 he was professor of

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

in the School of Arts and Sciences at

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. In 1902, when

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

' birthplace was reconstructed at the

St. Louis World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 mill ...

, Dixon was made Chairman of the Library and Museum Committee of the Burns Cottage Association. He explained:

I was brought up at
Ayr Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...
, the Burns neighborhood, and came from an Ayrshire family. My granduncle, John Gray, was town clerk of Ayr and secretary of the great Burns Festival of 1844, when 80,000 good people gathered in a field beside the cottage to honor the name of Ayr's most noted son. My youth was passed in the place where the 'twa brigs,' the
river Doon The River Doon (, ) is a river in Ayrshire, Scotland. Its course is generally north-westerly, passing near to the town of Dalmellington, and through the villages of Patna, Dalrymple, and Alloway, birthplace of Robert Burns. The source of the D ...
,
Alloway Kirk The Alloway Auld Kirk, which dates back to the 16th century, is a church ruin in Alloway, South Ayrshire, Scotland, celebrated as the scene of the witches' dance in the poem " Tam o' Shanter" by Robert Burns. Robert Burns William Burnes, fath ...
, Tam O'Shanter Inn, the '
Brig o' Doon The Brig o' Doon, sometimes called the Auld Brig or Old Bridge of Doon, is a late medieval bridge in Ayrshire, Scotland, and a Category A structure. History The word ''brig'' is Scots for "bridge", hence the ''Brig o' Doon'' is the "Bridge ...
' and the
Burns cottage Burns Cottage is the birthplace of Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet (or "bard"), who was born at the cottage on 25 January 1759. It is located in Alloway, a current suburb of Ayr, and a former village, located in South Ayrshire, Scotland ...
and monument are all within a radius of three miles, and you must know that anything pertaining to Burns is indelibly impressed upon me."Burns' Birtplace Will be Rebuilt on the World's Fair Site," ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', 15 June 1902, 44.

In 1903–1904 he was president of Columbia College, in Milton, Oregon. He was professor of English literature at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

from 1905 to 1911, when he was transferred to the

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

Orient The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

al studies and

comparative literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...

. In 1906 he became editor of the ''

West Coast Magazine ''West Coast Magazine'' (1987–1998) was a three times a year Scottish literary publication consisting of poetry, short fiction, articles, essays and reviews. Founding editors were Gordon Giles, Kenny MacKenzie and Joe Murray. The proof issue app ...

''. In 1908, he received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from

Dickinson College Dickinson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School, Dickinson was chartered on September 9, 1783, ...

. He died on 27 September 1933.

Writings

He compiled a ''Dictionary of

Idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that largely or exclusively carries a Literal and figurative language, figurative or non-literal meaning (linguistic), meaning, rather than making any literal sense. Categorized as formulaic speech, formulaic ...

atic English

Phrase In grammar, a phrasecalled expression in some contextsis a group of words or singular word acting as a grammatical unit. For instance, the English language, English expression "the very happy squirrel" is a noun phrase which contains the adject ...

s'' (1891) and wrote: ''Twentieth Century Life of

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

'' (1902); "

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold (academic), Tom Arnold, literary professor, and Willi ...

," in ''Modern Poets and Christian Teaching'' (1906); and ''A Survey of Scottish Literature in the Nineteenth Century'' (1907). In 1920, he wrote, ''The Spiritual Meaning of

Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's ...

's "In Memoriam"'' and ''Manual of Modern Scots''.

Family

His sister, Mary Dixon, married

in 1885.

References

External links

Dickinson College honorary degrees (lists death date)
** {{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, James Main 1856 births 1933 deaths Writers from Paisley, Renfrewshire Alumni of the University of St Andrews Academics of the University of St Andrews Academic staff of the University of Tokyo Washington University in St. Louis faculty University of Southern California faculty Scottish biographers Scottish expatriates in Japan Scottish emigrants to the United States Scottish lexicographers Scottish literary critics 19th-century Scottish philosophers 20th-century Scottish philosophers Scottish scholars and academics Scottish magazine editors Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh