Ernest Scott

Australian historian (1867–1939)
the Australian historian

Sir Ernest Scott (21 June 1867 – 6 December 1939) was an Australian historian and professor of history at the University of Melbourne from 1913 to 1936.

Scott was born in Northampton, England, on 21 June 1867, the son of Hannah Scott, a housekeeper; William Scott, civil engineer, was cited as his father when Ernest married. Ernest Scott was educated at St Katherine's Church of England School, Northampton and worked as a journalist on the London Globe. On 7 May 1892 Scott married Mabel Emily Besant, daughter of Rev. Frank and Annie Besant, the theosophist; they had one child, Muriel (1893–1924).

Scott's widow Emily Scott donated money to the University of Melbourne to establish the Ernest Scott Prize for History, which is awarded annually for the most distinguished contribution to the history of Australia or New Zealand.

Lines of historians in Australia can be traced to Scott at the University of Melbourne. Among his undergraduate students were future historians Manning Clark and W. K. Hancock. Unlike Hancock, Clark spent his career in Australia and went on to teach a third generation of historians which included Geoffrey Blainey, Geoffrey Serle, Ken Inglis, and Michael Roe. This generation would "transform the writing of Australian history over the following five decades." A fourth generation was taught by Blainey, including Janet McCalman and Stuart Macintyre. Inglis taught Bill Gammage and Hank Nelson. Among Macintyre's former undergraduate students was Frank Bongiorno.