Alexander Mackie

Born in Edinburgh on May 25, 1876, he studied at Daniel Stewart's College and the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated with first-class honours in philosophy. After a short period as a schoolteacher and a post at University College of North Wales, Bangor, he moved to Australia in 1906 to become principal of the new Teachers' College in Sydney.

He went on to play an important role in Australian education, serving both as principal of Teachers' College and, from 1910, as professor of education at the University of Sydney. He worked to strengthen teacher preparation and argued for teachers to be treated as well-educated professionals rather than narrowly trained classroom workers.

Remembered as an influential educationist, he remained closely associated with the development of teacher education in New South Wales across the early twentieth century. He died in 1955.