James Black Baillie

Sir James Black Baillie, OBE (24 October 1872 – 9 June 1940) was a British moral philosopher and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds. He provided the first significant translation of Hegel's "Phenomenology of Mind". He is said to be the model for the character Sir John Evans in the novel The Weight of the Evidence (1944) by Michael Innes.^[1]

James Black Baillie
Born	James Black Baillie (1872-10-24)October 24, 1872 Forfarshire
Died	9 June 1940(1940-06-09) (aged 67)
Academic background
Alma mater	University of Edinburgh (PhD)
Thesis	The Growth of Hegel's Logic (1899)
Academic work
Era	20th Century Philosophy
Discipline	Philosophy
School or tradition	German Idealism
Institutions	University of Leeds
Main interests	G. W. F. Hegel

Life and works

Baillie was born in West Mill, Cortachy, Forfarshire. He studied at the University of Edinburgh, where he gained a PhD in 1899 on The Growth of Hegel's Logic,^[2] and Trinity College, Cambridge.^[3] Baillie lectured in philosophy at University College, Dundee and in August 1902 was appointed Regius Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen.^[4][5] In 1906 Baillie married Helena May James. They had no children.^[1]

During the First World War he was in the intelligence division of the British Admiralty. After public service posts, Baillie was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds from 1924 to his retirement in 1938.^{[citation needed]}

Baillie died of prostate cancer in Weybridge, Surrey in 1940 at the age of 67.^{[1][better source needed]}

Honours

Baillie was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1919 New Year Honours,^[6] made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy following a meeting with Italian leader Benito Mussolini^[1] and received a knighthood in 1931.^[7]

Publications

• The Origin and Significance of Hegel's Logic: A General Introduction to Hegel's System. Macmillan. 1901.^[8]

Translations

• Hegel, G. W. F. (1910). The Phenomenology of Mind. doi:10.4324/9781315830308. ISBN 978-1-315-83030-8. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)