Ernest Scott (historian)

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Ernest Scott (left) and William Harrison Moore at the University of Melbourne, between 1914 and 1918

Sir Ernest Scott (born June 21, 1867 in Northampton , † December 6, 1939 in Melbourne ) was a British - Australian historian , journalist , author and theosophist .

life and work

Childhood, education, marriages and children

Ernest Scott was born on June 21, 1867 in Northampton to William and Hannah Scott . The father was a civil engineer , the mother a housekeeper. Attended school at St Katherine's Church of England School in Northampton, a primary school operated by the Church of England , after which he worked there as a teacher. However, his atheist attitude soon brought him into conflict of conscience with the doctrine of the Church. He then gave up this job and worked as a journalist for a local newspaper and later for the London Globe . Emigrated to Australia in 1892, he worked in Melbourne for The Herald newspaper until 1895 .

On May 7, 1892, in Marylebone , he married Mabel Besant , the daughter of the well-known suffragette and theosophist Annie Besant . Daughter Muriel (1893-1924) emerged from the marriage. At the instigation of his wife, he now called himself Ernest Besant-Scott , the marriage was marked by alienation from around 1896 and only existed on paper, but was not formally divorced until 1915. In 1909 his wife Mabel returned to England with daughter Muriel. After the official divorce, he married again on May 25, 1915 in Melbourne, this marriage to Emily Illinden Fortuna remained childless.

As a theosophist

In the early 1890s he joined the Theosophical Society (TG) and founded the theosophical journal The Austral Theosophist in Melbourne in 1894 , for which he also acted as editor. The first edition appeared on January 1, 1894, but already in February 1895 he discontinued it after he had finished his journalistic activities and started to work as a stenographer . During this time he resigned from the TG. Presumably Scott had not become a theosophist out of inner conviction, but had joined the TG under the impression of his wife Mabel and mother-in-law Annie Besant. When his marriage to Mabel fell apart around 1896, he also lost his ties to theosophy and separated from the organization.

As a stenographer, author and historian

From 1895 to 1901 Scott worked for the parliament of the Australian state of Victoria as a stenographer (Hansard Writer = parliamentary stenographer). Then until 1913 (1914?) He carried out the same activity for the Parliament of the British Commonwealth in Australia. The speed with which he mastered the shorthand was legendary, even during heated parliamentary debates with numerous interjections, he never lost track and was able to present a complete log of all speeches from his notes.

Of history interested, he began self-taught with the emergence of the Australian nation to deal with and published from 1910 a number of works on this subject which caused a sensation in the professional world. When the University of Melbourne's History Chair was vacant in 1913 , Scott was appointed to the post despite not having a degree and never having attended college. He taught British, Australian and European history until his retirement in 1936.

In June 1939, shortly before his death, he was promoted to Knight Bachelor . The University of Melbourne named him the chair of history in his honor and regularly awards the Ernest Scott Prize for outstanding historical work.

Works (selection)

  • A History of the University of Melbourne . Melbourne University Press, Melbourne 1936.
  • A Short History of Australia . Humphrey Milford, London 1916.
  • Lapérouse . Angus & Robertson, Sydney 1912.
  • Terre Napoléon, a history of French explorations and projects in Australia . Methuen, London 1910.
  • The Life of Captain Matthew Flinders . Angus & Robertson, Sydney 1914.

literature

Web links

Commons : Ernest Scott  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Scott, Ernest
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Besant-Scott, Ernest
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Anglo-Australian historian, journalist, author and theosophist
DATE OF BIRTH June 21, 1867
PLACE OF BIRTH Northampton , England , UK
DATE OF DEATH December 6, 1939
Place of death Melbourne , Australia