Ä¢¹½´«Ã½

A professor of classics at Ä¢¹½´«Ã½'s in the 19th century, Mackerras was known to contemporaries as "The Martyr of Ä¢¹½´«Ã½'s" for his self-sacrifice while fundraising for the university.

Mackerras was born in Scotland and raised in Lyn, Ontario. He was educated at Ä¢¹½´«Ã½'s (BA 1850, MA 1852) and  appointed Professor of Classics at the university in 1864.

Several years later, in 1867 and 1868, Ä¢¹½´«Ã½'s suffered two potentially disastrous financial blows when the province withdrew its funding from Ä¢¹½´«Ã½'s and the Commercial Bank collapsed, taking two-thirds of the university's endowment with it.

In 1868 and 1869, Principal William Snodgrass, Mackerras, and a few other determined officials spent almost a year canvassing through the cities, towns, and backwoods farms of Ontario and Quebec.

The work saved Ä¢¹½´«Ã½'s but it permanently destroyed Mackerras' health. He taught at Ä¢¹½´«Ã½'s in constant sickness for another 10 years, barely able to climb the stairs to his classes.

He died from his illness in 1880 and is buried in the Cataraqui Cemetery.