author
William Dunn Macray
1826–1916
A lifelong Oxford scholar, librarian, and clergyman, he is best remembered for chronicling the history of the Bodleian Library. His work opens a window onto the world of manuscripts, archives, and old institutions with the care of someone who spent decades among them.
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About the author
Born in London in 1826, William Dunn Macray became an English librarian, cleric, and historian whose career was closely tied to Oxford. He was educated at Magdalen College, became a Fellow there, and was ordained in the Church of England.
Macray worked at the Bodleian Library for about sixty years, from 1845 to 1905, chiefly in the manuscripts department. He is especially known for Annals of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, a history of one of Britain’s great research libraries, and for editing and publishing historical documents drawn from archival sources.
Alongside his library work, he also served in parish life, including as Rector of Ducklington. He died in 1916, leaving behind the reputation of a patient scholar and careful recorder of the literary and historical life of Oxford.