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{{Short description|Scottish lawyer (1904–1961)}}
'''John MacDonald MacCormick''' (20 November 1904 - 13 October 1961) was a [[lawyer]] and advocate of [[Home Rule]] in [[Scotland]].<ref name="SNP page">{{cite web|url=http://remember.snp.org/tributes/view/john_maccormick/
{{EngvarB|date=May 2015}}
|publisher=Scottish National Party|author=|date=|accessdate=2009-10-09|title=Tributes - John MacCormick}}</ref>
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}
[[File:John_MacCormick.jpg|thumb|right]]
'''John MacDonald MacCormick''' (20 November 1904 – 13 October 1961) was a Scottish lawyer, [[Scottish nationalism|Scottish nationalist]] politician and advocate of [[Home Rule]] in Scotland.<ref name="SNP page">{{cite web|url=http://remember.snp.org/tributes/view/john_maccormick/|publisher=Scottish National Party|access-date=9 October 2009|title=Tributes – John MacCormick|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728035703/http://remember.snp.org/tributes/view/john_maccormick/|archive-date=28 July 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>


==Early life==
==Early life==
MacCormick was born in [[Pollokshields]], Glasgow, in 1904. His father was Donald MacCormick, a sea captain who was from the [[Isle of Mull]]. His mother was the first [[district nurse]] in the [[Western Isles]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eIVAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vKMMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4848%2C7030238 |title=Obituary. Dr John M. MacCormack. Champion of Scottish Nationalism |work=[[The Glasgow Herald]] |page=8 |date=14 October 1961 |access-date=29 February 2016}}</ref> MacCormick was educated at Woodside School, and studied law at the [[University of Glasgow]] (1923–1928). He became involved in politics while at university, and joined the [[Glasgow University Labour Club]] and the [[Independent Labour Party]] in 1923.<ref name="dnb">[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/38773] Richard J. Finlay, 'MacCormick, John MacDonald (1904–1961)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press</ref> In September 1927 MacCormick left the ILP and formed the [[Glasgow University Scottish Nationalist Association]] (GUSNA), which was designed to promote [[Culture of Scotland|Scottish culture]] and [[Scottish nationalism|nationalism]] and self-government. The association was sufficiently neutral to act as the honest broker between the various nationalist organisations which would merge to form the [[National Party of Scotland]] (NPS) in April 1928. MacCormick was a talented speaker and organiser, and served as the national secretary of the NPS.<ref name="SLR">{{cite journal |url=http://www.newsnet.scot/nns-archive/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3520:king-john-and-the-headstone-in-the-corner |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302211220/http://www.newsnet.scot/nns-archive/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3520:king-john-and-the-headstone-in-the-corner |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 March 2016 |first=Kenneth |last=Roy |title=King John and the headstone in the corner |journal=Scottish Left Review |date=27 October 2011 |access-date=29 February 2016 }}</ref> MacCormick was often known by his nickname "King John", which he said came from a heckle during a debate he was participating in when upon a question from the floor whether a devolved Scotland would retain the monarchy, or would be a republic, someone interjected and said: "no, it will be a kingdom and John MacCormick will be our king."<ref name="dnb"/>
He began in [[politics]] as a member of the [[Glasgow University Labour Club]],{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} before deciding to help form the [[Glasgow University Scottish Nationalist Association]] (GUSNA) in 1927.<ref name="SNP page" /> MacCormick was often known by his nickname "King John", which he said came from a heckle during a debate he was participating in when upon a question from the floor whether a devolved Scotland would retain the monarchy or be a republic someone interjected and said that, "no, it will be a kingdom and John MacCormick will be our king."


The failure of the NPS to make an electoral breakthrough led him to question current tactics and he concluded that the party's fundamentalist wing was frightening away potential support because of its support for [[republicanism]] and [[Scottish independence|independence]]. In consequence, MacCormick initiated a campaign to redefine the policy of the NPS, to make it more moderate and to tone down demands for independence. He first stood for [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] as an NPS candidate at the [[1929 United Kingdom general election|1929 general election]], when he came third in [[Glasgow Camlachie (UK Parliament constituency)|Glasgow Camlachie]], with 1,646 votes.<ref name="dnb"/> He also stood at [[Inverness (UK Parliament constituency)|Inverness]] at the [[1931 United Kingdom general election|1931 general election]].
He then helped to form the [[National Party of Scotland]] in 1928 before leading them into a merger with the [[Scottish Party]] in 1934 to found the modern [[Scottish National Party]] (SNP).<ref name="SNP page" /> He resigned from the party in 1942 following his failure to persuade the party to adopt a devolutionist stance rather than supporting all out [[Scottish independence]] and due to the victory of [[Douglas Young]] over his favoured candidate [[William Power (Scottish politician)|William Power]] for the chairmanship of the party. Along with a number of dissatisfied delegates to that year's SNP conference he established a Scottish Convention (not to be confused with a 1990s [[Scottish Convention|of the same name]] to campaign for home rule for Scotland and later formed the Scottish Covenant Association.<ref name="SNP page" />


==SNP==
Later MacCormick also took the decision to join the [[The Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] as he viewed them as being the party most closely allied to his devolutionist ambitions for [[Scotland]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}}
In 1932, MacCormick began to make overtures to the right-wing [[Scottish Party]], believing that, as the Scottish Party included a number of members of the Scottish '[[The Establishment|establishment]]', their conversion to the cause of home rule would enhance the credibility of the nationalists. To secure an accommodation, MacCormick purged the NPS of radical elements, and moved the policy of the NPS towards that of the Scottish Party. His endeavours paid dividends, and in 1934 the two parties merged to form the [[Scottish National Party]] (SNP).<ref name="dnb"/><ref name="SLR"/> MacCormick himself was not a dogmatic politician, and described himself as a radical, by which he meant a form of [[Centrism|centrist]] liberal. His response to the failure of the SNP to make an electoral impact in the mid-1930s was to search for alternative strategies. He considered the basic problem to be that, although many people in Scotland favoured home rule, they were not, on the whole, willing to put the issue above conventional party loyalties.<ref name="dnb"/> The solution, MacCormick argued, was to make the other parties take home rule seriously, and to demonstrate widespread support for the cause. In 1939 he launched the idea of a Scottish national convention, which would bring together all sections of Scottish society and all shades of Scottish political opinion in favour of home rule. He had made contact with both the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] and [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] parties, and although the first meeting, scheduled for September 1939, was cancelled because of the outbreak of [[World War II]], MacCormick pushed negotiations throughout the war.<ref name="dnb"/><ref name="SLR"/>


As a leading figure in the SNP, MacCormick came under increasing attack from the rank and file members for his failure to maintain party structure and organisation. He considered that his preferred strategy of co-operation with other organisations meant that there was little need for the SNP to function as a mainstream political party.<ref name="dnb"/> He endeavoured to present an acceptable face of Scottish nationalism, and did much to reverse the party's official anti-conscription policy following the outbreak of the [[World War II|Second World War]].<ref name="dnb"/><ref name="SLR"/> MacCormick stood as an SNP candidate for [[Inverness (UK Parliament constituency)|Inverness]] at the [[1935 United Kingdom general election|1935 general election]] and at the 1937 Glasgow Hillhead by-election.<ref name="dnb"/>
==Personal life==
MacCormick was survived by two sons. The first, [[Iain MacCormick|Iain]], served as SNP [[Member of Parliament]] for Argyll from 1974 till 1979, and his second son [[Neil MacCormick|Neil]] was Professor of Law and Vice-Principal of the [[University of Edinburgh]] and elected an SNP Member of the [[European Parliament]] in 1999. His family came from [[Isle of Mull|Mull]], and he was related to the [[Scottish Gaelic]] novelist of the same name.


He resigned from the party in 1942 following his failure to persuade the party to adopt a devolutionist stance rather than supporting all out [[Scottish independence]] and due to the victory of [[Douglas Young (classicist)|Douglas Young]] over his favoured candidate, [[William Power (Scottish politician)|William Power]], for the leadership of the SNP.<ref name="dnb"/> Along with a number of dissatisfied delegates to that year's SNP conference, he established the Scottish Convention to campaign for home rule for Scotland and later formed the Scottish Covenant Association.<ref name="SNP page" />
==Later events==
He was elected [[Rector of the University of Glasgow|Rector]] of the [[University of Glasgow]] in 1950 as GUSNA's candidate, serving until 1953; he was also awarded a [[honorary degree|honorary]] [[Doctor of Laws|Doctorate of Laws]] by the university in 1951.<ref name="SNP page" /> This association with GUSNA also saw the formation of a political friendship with a then young law student at Glasgow University, [[Ian Hamilton QC|Ian Hamilton]], who had run his campaign to be elected rector.


==Scottish Convention, Scottish Covenant and later years==
He was involved, along with Hamilton, in the removal of the [[Stone of Destiny]] from [[Westminster Abbey]] on Christmas Day 1950 and its return to [[Arbroath]] Abbey. He was also responsible, again along with Hamilton, for [[MacCormick v. Lord Advocate]], the constitutional challenge over [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth]] using the title ''the second'', rather than ''the first'' in Scotland—there having been no Elizabeth I of Scotland.
MacCormick took the decision to join the [[The Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] as he viewed them as being the party most closely allied to his devolutionist ambitions for [[Scotland]]. He stood as the Liberal candidate for [[Inverness (UK Parliament constituency)|Inverness]] at the [[1945 United Kingdom general election|1945 general election]].<ref name="dnb"/><ref name="SLR"/>


In the 1951 he formed the [[Scottish Covenant|Scottish Covenant Association]], a non-partizan political organisation which campaigned to secure the establishment of a devolved [[Scottish Assembly]].<ref name="SNP page" /> This covenant was hugely successful in securing support from across the political spectrum as well as in capturing the Scottish public's imagination (over 2 million signed a petition demanding the convocation of an Assembly). However, in the longrun it proved unsuccessful in establishing the Assembly MacCormick so craved, and it would not be until nearly 40 years after his death until [[Home Rule]] would be secured.
The Scottish Convention succeeded in 1947 in setting up an assembly along the lines planned in 1939.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GTU1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=LaYLAAAAIBAJ&pg=1787%2C403157 |title=Scots Home Rule Plea |work=The Herald |page=3 |date=8 September 1947 |access-date=12 December 2016}}</ref> In 1951, MacCormick formed the [[Scottish Covenant|Scottish Covenant Association]], a non-partisan political organisation which campaigned to secure the establishment of a devolved [[Scottish Assembly]].<ref name="SNP page" /> This covenant was hugely successful in securing support from across the political spectrum, as well as in capturing the Scottish public's imagination (over 2 million signed a petition demanding the convocation of an Assembly). In 1948, he stood as an independent candidate at the [[1948 Paisley by-election|Paisley by-election]], with what he erroneously believed to be Liberal and Conservative support, and lost.<ref name="SNP page" /><ref name="dnb"/> His failure discredited claims as to the popularity of home rule, and further served to reinforce notions that the Scottish Convention was an anti-Labour organisation. MacCormick's failure left the SNP with a monopoly of the cause of home rule.<ref name="dnb"/><ref name="SLR"/>


MacCormick was elected [[Rector of the University of Glasgow]] in October 1950.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jJtAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XJUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3548%2C3627809 |title=Covenant Candidate Wins Rectorship |work=The Glasgow Herald |date=24 October 1950 |page=3 |access-date=5 May 2018}}</ref> He served as Rector until 1953. He was awarded an [[honorary degree|honorary]] [[Doctor of Laws|Doctorate of Laws]] by the university in 1951.<ref name="GU people">{{cite web |url=http://www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk/biography/?id=WH0208&type=P |title=University of Glasgow Story: People: John McCormick |publisher=[[University of Glasgow]] |website=www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk |date=3 March 2011 |access-date=29 February 2016 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303191636/http://www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk/biography/?id=WH0208&type=P |url-status=dead }}</ref> This association with GUSNA also saw the formation of a political friendship with a then young law student at Glasgow University, [[Ian Hamilton QC|Ian Hamilton]], who had run his campaign to be elected rector. MacCormick was involved, along with Hamilton, in the removal of the [[Stone of Scone|Stone of Destiny]] from [[Westminster Abbey]] on Christmas Day 1950 and its return to [[Arbroath]] Abbey. He also mounted a legal challenge, [[MacCormick v. Lord Advocate]], over the right of [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth]] using the title ''Queen Elizabeth II'', on grounds that there had been no previous Scottish Queen Elizabeth.<ref name="dnb"/><ref name="SLR"/>
In 1955 MacCormick had a book detailing his activities in the home rule movement published, entitled ''The Flag in the Wind''.

In 1955 MacCormick had a book detailing his activities in the home rule movement published, entitled ''The Flag in the Wind''. His last attempt to enter parliament came at the 1959 General Election, when he stood for the [[The Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] at [[Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles (UK Parliament constituency)|Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles]], again finishing second.<ref name="dnb"/>

In the film ''[[Stone of Destiny (film)|Stone of Destiny]]'' MacCormick is played by [[Robert Carlyle]].

==Personal life==
MacCormick married Margaret Isobel Miller in 1939, with whom he had two sons and two daughters. Their elder son, [[Iain MacCormick|Iain]] (1939–2014), served as SNP Member of Parliament for [[Argyllshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Argyll]] from 1974 till 1979 (and was a founder member of the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]]. Their second son, [[Neil MacCormick|Neil]] (1941–2009) was [[regius professor]] of [[Public Law]] and Vice-Principal of the [[University of Edinburgh]], and served as an SNP Member of the [[European Parliament]] from 1999 to 2004. He was also the uncle of the journalist and broadcaster [[Donald MacCormick]].

MacCormick died on 13 October 1961. His funeral was held in the chapel of the University of Glasgow.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eoVAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vKMMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3440%2C7385131 |title=Funeral service for Dr John MacCormack |work=The Glasgow Herald |date=17 October 1961 |page=10 |access-date=19 June 2016}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


{{start box}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{succession box
| title = National Secretary of the [[Scottish National Party]]
| years = 1934–1942
| before = ''New position''
| after = [[Robert McIntyre (politician)|Robert McIntyre]]
}}
{{s-aca}}
{{s-aca}}
{{succession box|title=[[Rector of the University of Glasgow]]|years=1950&ndash;1953|before=[[Walter Elliot (Scottish Unionist MP)|Walter Elliot]]|after=[[Tom Honeyman]]}}
{{succession box|title=[[Rector of the University of Glasgow]]|years=1950–1953|before=[[Walter Elliot (Scottish politician)|Walter Elliot]]|after=[[Tom Honeyman]]}}
{{end}}
{{s-end}}

{{SNP}}

{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME =Maccormick, John
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH =
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maccormick, John}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maccormick, John}}
[[Category:Scottish National Party politicians]]
[[Category:Scottish National Party politicians]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Glasgow]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Glasgow]]
[[Category:People from Glasgow]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Glasgow]]
[[Category:Rectors of the University of Glasgow]]
[[Category:Rectors of the University of Glasgow]]
[[Category:Scottish nationalists]]
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1961 deaths]]
[[Category:1961 deaths]]
[[Category:Political party founders]]
[[Category:People associated with the campaign for Scottish devolution]]

Latest revision as of 10:18, 24 November 2024

John MacDonald MacCormick (20 November 1904 – 13 October 1961) was a Scottish lawyer, Scottish nationalist politician and advocate of Home Rule in Scotland.[1]

Early life

[edit]

MacCormick was born in Pollokshields, Glasgow, in 1904. His father was Donald MacCormick, a sea captain who was from the Isle of Mull. His mother was the first district nurse in the Western Isles.[2] MacCormick was educated at Woodside School, and studied law at the University of Glasgow (1923–1928). He became involved in politics while at university, and joined the Glasgow University Labour Club and the Independent Labour Party in 1923.[3] In September 1927 MacCormick left the ILP and formed the Glasgow University Scottish Nationalist Association (GUSNA), which was designed to promote Scottish culture and nationalism and self-government. The association was sufficiently neutral to act as the honest broker between the various nationalist organisations which would merge to form the National Party of Scotland (NPS) in April 1928. MacCormick was a talented speaker and organiser, and served as the national secretary of the NPS.[4] MacCormick was often known by his nickname "King John", which he said came from a heckle during a debate he was participating in when upon a question from the floor whether a devolved Scotland would retain the monarchy, or would be a republic, someone interjected and said: "no, it will be a kingdom and John MacCormick will be our king."[3]

The failure of the NPS to make an electoral breakthrough led him to question current tactics and he concluded that the party's fundamentalist wing was frightening away potential support because of its support for republicanism and independence. In consequence, MacCormick initiated a campaign to redefine the policy of the NPS, to make it more moderate and to tone down demands for independence. He first stood for Parliament as an NPS candidate at the 1929 general election, when he came third in Glasgow Camlachie, with 1,646 votes.[3] He also stood at Inverness at the 1931 general election.

SNP

[edit]

In 1932, MacCormick began to make overtures to the right-wing Scottish Party, believing that, as the Scottish Party included a number of members of the Scottish 'establishment', their conversion to the cause of home rule would enhance the credibility of the nationalists. To secure an accommodation, MacCormick purged the NPS of radical elements, and moved the policy of the NPS towards that of the Scottish Party. His endeavours paid dividends, and in 1934 the two parties merged to form the Scottish National Party (SNP).[3][4] MacCormick himself was not a dogmatic politician, and described himself as a radical, by which he meant a form of centrist liberal. His response to the failure of the SNP to make an electoral impact in the mid-1930s was to search for alternative strategies. He considered the basic problem to be that, although many people in Scotland favoured home rule, they were not, on the whole, willing to put the issue above conventional party loyalties.[3] The solution, MacCormick argued, was to make the other parties take home rule seriously, and to demonstrate widespread support for the cause. In 1939 he launched the idea of a Scottish national convention, which would bring together all sections of Scottish society and all shades of Scottish political opinion in favour of home rule. He had made contact with both the Labour and Liberal parties, and although the first meeting, scheduled for September 1939, was cancelled because of the outbreak of World War II, MacCormick pushed negotiations throughout the war.[3][4]

As a leading figure in the SNP, MacCormick came under increasing attack from the rank and file members for his failure to maintain party structure and organisation. He considered that his preferred strategy of co-operation with other organisations meant that there was little need for the SNP to function as a mainstream political party.[3] He endeavoured to present an acceptable face of Scottish nationalism, and did much to reverse the party's official anti-conscription policy following the outbreak of the Second World War.[3][4] MacCormick stood as an SNP candidate for Inverness at the 1935 general election and at the 1937 Glasgow Hillhead by-election.[3]

He resigned from the party in 1942 following his failure to persuade the party to adopt a devolutionist stance rather than supporting all out Scottish independence and due to the victory of Douglas Young over his favoured candidate, William Power, for the leadership of the SNP.[3] Along with a number of dissatisfied delegates to that year's SNP conference, he established the Scottish Convention to campaign for home rule for Scotland and later formed the Scottish Covenant Association.[1]

Scottish Convention, Scottish Covenant and later years

[edit]

MacCormick took the decision to join the Liberal Party as he viewed them as being the party most closely allied to his devolutionist ambitions for Scotland. He stood as the Liberal candidate for Inverness at the 1945 general election.[3][4]

The Scottish Convention succeeded in 1947 in setting up an assembly along the lines planned in 1939.[5] In 1951, MacCormick formed the Scottish Covenant Association, a non-partisan political organisation which campaigned to secure the establishment of a devolved Scottish Assembly.[1] This covenant was hugely successful in securing support from across the political spectrum, as well as in capturing the Scottish public's imagination (over 2 million signed a petition demanding the convocation of an Assembly). In 1948, he stood as an independent candidate at the Paisley by-election, with what he erroneously believed to be Liberal and Conservative support, and lost.[1][3] His failure discredited claims as to the popularity of home rule, and further served to reinforce notions that the Scottish Convention was an anti-Labour organisation. MacCormick's failure left the SNP with a monopoly of the cause of home rule.[3][4]

MacCormick was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow in October 1950.[6] He served as Rector until 1953. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws by the university in 1951.[7] This association with GUSNA also saw the formation of a political friendship with a then young law student at Glasgow University, Ian Hamilton, who had run his campaign to be elected rector. MacCormick was involved, along with Hamilton, in the removal of the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1950 and its return to Arbroath Abbey. He also mounted a legal challenge, MacCormick v. Lord Advocate, over the right of Queen Elizabeth using the title Queen Elizabeth II, on grounds that there had been no previous Scottish Queen Elizabeth.[3][4]

In 1955 MacCormick had a book detailing his activities in the home rule movement published, entitled The Flag in the Wind. His last attempt to enter parliament came at the 1959 General Election, when he stood for the Liberal Party at Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles, again finishing second.[3]

In the film Stone of Destiny MacCormick is played by Robert Carlyle.

Personal life

[edit]

MacCormick married Margaret Isobel Miller in 1939, with whom he had two sons and two daughters. Their elder son, Iain (1939–2014), served as SNP Member of Parliament for Argyll from 1974 till 1979 (and was a founder member of the Social Democratic Party. Their second son, Neil (1941–2009) was regius professor of Public Law and Vice-Principal of the University of Edinburgh, and served as an SNP Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2004. He was also the uncle of the journalist and broadcaster Donald MacCormick.

MacCormick died on 13 October 1961. His funeral was held in the chapel of the University of Glasgow.[8]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Tributes – John MacCormick". Scottish National Party. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
  2. ^ "Obituary. Dr John M. MacCormack. Champion of Scottish Nationalism". The Glasgow Herald. 14 October 1961. p. 8. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o [1] Richard J. Finlay, 'MacCormick, John MacDonald (1904–1961)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Roy, Kenneth (27 October 2011). "King John and the headstone in the corner". Scottish Left Review. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Scots Home Rule Plea". The Herald. 8 September 1947. p. 3. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  6. ^ "Covenant Candidate Wins Rectorship". The Glasgow Herald. 24 October 1950. p. 3. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  7. ^ "University of Glasgow Story: People: John McCormick". www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk. University of Glasgow. 3 March 2011. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  8. ^ "Funeral service for Dr John MacCormack". The Glasgow Herald. 17 October 1961. p. 10. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
Party political offices
Preceded by
New position
National Secretary of the Scottish National Party
1934–1942
Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by Rector of the University of Glasgow
1950–1953
Succeeded by