Ronald Brunlees McKerrow
British academic (1872–1940)

Ronald Brunlees McKerrow (12 December 1872 – 20 January 1940) was one of the leading bibliographers and Shakespeare scholars of the 20th century.
Life
R. B. McKerrow was born in Putney, Surrey, son of Alexander McKerrow, a civil engineer, and Mary Jane Brunlees, daughter of Sir James Brunlees, a president of the Institution of Civil Engineers. His paternal grandfather was William McKerrow, a noted cleric in the Presbyterian Church. R. B. died at Picket Piece in Wendover, Buckinghamshire, where he was buried.
He was educated at Harrow, at King's College, London, and at Trinity College, Cambridge. He then taught English for three years in Tokyo (1897–1900), where he learnt Japanese.
Following his return to London, he became a director of the publishing house Sidgwick and Jackson (1908). He was awarded a D.Litt. by the University of Cambridge in 1911. In 1912 he became joint Honorary Secretary of the Bibliographical Society (with A. W. Pollard).
The public source identifies “Ronald Brunlees McKerrow” as british academic (1872–1940). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Ronald, Brunlees and McKerrow.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Ronald Brunlees McKerrow”, the useful work is to connect “british academic (1872–1940)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3441497. VIAF identifies the subject as 51840196. The Library of Congress control number is n50081480. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1872, 1940, 1897 and 1900.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ronald Brunlees McKerrow”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Ronald Brunlees McKerrow primary sources, Ronald Brunlees McKerrow archive and Ronald research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ronald Brunlees McKerrow”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Ronald Brunlees McKerrow” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.