John Richard Magrath (1839–1930) was a British

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

and administrator at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

Life

Third son of Nicholas Magrath, a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

surgeon, and his wife Sarah Mauger Monk, Magrath was born at

Saint Peter Port St. Peter Port (french: Saint-Pierre Port) is a town and one of the ten parishes on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is the capital of the Bailiwick of Guernsey as well as the main port. The population in 2019 was 18,958. St ...

, Guernsey and educated at Elizabeth College. He attained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree from

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...

( 1st class Literae humaniores, 4th class mathematics) in 1860 (

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

1863) and was a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

, from 1860 to 1878. He was ordained in 1863, serving as vicar of Sparsholt with

Kingston Lisle Kingston Lisle is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, England, about west of Wantage and south-southeast of Faringdon. The parish includes the hamlet of Fawler, about west of Kingston Lisle village. The 2011 Census recorde ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Be ...

(now Oxfordshire) from 1887 to 1889, and as chaplain to Bishop Thorold of Winchester from 1890 to 1895. At the Queen's College, he became

Tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in c ...

(from 1864), Dean (1864–67),

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

(1867–78),

Bursar A bursar (derived from "bursa", Latin for '' purse'') is a professional administrator in a school or university often with a predominantly financial role. In the United States, bursars usually hold office only at the level of higher education (fo ...

(1874–78), Pro-provost (1877), and then Provost (1878–1930). In 1878 he was awarded B.D. and

D.D. A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

At Oxford he was a member of the University's

Hebdomadal Council The Hebdomadal Council was the chief executive body for the University of Oxford from its establishment by the Oxford University Act 1854 until its replacement, in the Michaelmas term of 2000, by the new University Council. Chaired by the Vice ...

(1878–99), Curator of the

University Chest The University Chest is a term used, with slightly varying meaning, at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. The abbreviated form ''The Chest'' is common at Cambridge. Oxford At Oxford the term is used in connection with the f ...

(1885–1908), a Delegate of the

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

(1894–1920), and

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

(1894–98). Magrath was an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

from 1889 to 1895, also serving as a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

. He was in support of women's

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after compl ...

and interested in northern schools connected with The Queen's College, especially

St Bees School , motto_translation = Enter so that you may make progress , established = (reformed 2015–2018) , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label ...

. Having been reclusive for the last ten years of his provostship, seen only by the servant that brought him his meals, Magrath's refusal to participate in college affairs led the college to seek to get rid of him. He was bought a house at

Boars Hill Boars Hill is a hamlet southwest of Oxford, straddling the boundary between the civil parishes of Sunningwell and Wootton. Historically, part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. History The earlies ...

, south-west of Oxford; travelling there on a cold February day in an open carriage, Magrath developed

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

and died three days later. Magrath's papers are in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

at Oxford.

Works

* ''The Fall of the Republic of Florence'', (Stanhope Prize Essay), 1860 *''A Plea for the Study of Theology in the University of Oxford'', 1868 *''Selections from Aristotle’s Organon'', 1868, 2nd ed. 1877 *''Papers on University Reform'', 1877 *'Queen's College', in Clark's ''Colleges of Oxford'', 1891 *''The Flemings in Oxford'', vol. I 1904, vol. II 1913, vol. III 1924 *''The Obituary Book of Queen's College, Oxford'', 1910 *''Fresh Light on the Family of Robert de Eglesfield, Kendal'', 1916 *''Sir Robert Parvyng, Kendal'', 1919 *''The Queen's College'', in two volumes, 1921, republished by

BiblioBazaar BiblioBazaar is, with Nabu Press, an imprint of the historical reprints publisher BiblioLife, which is based in Charleston, South Carolina and owned by BiblioLabs LLC. BiblioBazaar / Nerbles, LLC produced, in printable electronic form, 272,930 ...

2009 () Volume 1 republished by General Books, 2010 ()

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magrath, John Richard 1839 births 1930 deaths Guernsey people Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford British chaplains Fellows of The Queen's College, Oxford People educated at Elizabeth College, Guernsey Provosts of The Queen's College, Oxford Vice-Chancellors of the University of Oxford Presidents of the Oxford Union