Person

Geddes, Auckland, Sir, 1879-1954

1879-1954

Auckland Campbell Geddes, 1st Baron Geddes was born on June 21, 1879, in London, England.

He was a British academic, soldier, politician, and diplomat. He served in the Second Boer War in South Africa between 1901 and 1902. He was educated at George Watson's College, in Edinburgh. He then studied Medicine at Edinburgh University graduating in 1903. From 1906 to 1909, Geddes was an Assistant Professor of Anatomy at Edinburgh University. In 1909 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. From 1913 to 1914 he was a Professor of Anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. From 1913 to 1914, he was a Professor of Anatomy at McGill University. His academic career was interrupted by World War I during which he served as a Brigadier General in the War Office. In 1917, he was elected Unionist Member of Parliament for Basingstoke, a seat he held until 1920. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1917 and served under David Lloyd George as Director of National Service from 1917 to 1918, as President of the Local Government Board from 1918 to 1919, as Minister of Reconstruction in 1919 and as President of the Board of Trade from 1919 to 1920. Geddes was appointed Principal of McGill University in 1919 but never undertook his official duties. He resigned in 1920 when he was appointed British Ambassador to the United States which he served until 1924. He returned to public service during World War II when he served as Commissioner for Civil Defence in the County of Kent. In 1942, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Geddes, of Rolvenden in the County of Kent.

In 1906, he married Isabella Gamble Ross. He died on June 8, 1954, in Chichester, Sussex, England.