James McLeod Wyllie was born in Stonehaven and educated at Mackie Academy and the University of Aberdeen (MA first class honours Classics, 1928). He served on the staff of the Oxford English Dictionary from 1929, and of the Oxford Latin Dictionary, 1930 - 1954 (Assistant Editor, 1933, Joint Editor, 1939, Editor, 1949 - 1954). He considered that his dismissal from the editorship in 1954 was unjust, and his concern to publicise the differences between himself and the Clarendon Press inspired much of his writing. Afterwards, he taught Classics in various schools, including Guernsey Ladies College, c 1968 and in Greenock, c 1970. He married Anne Wilson, daughter of James Fraser of Aberdeen in 1931, and had 2 sons and 1 daughter. He died in a road accident on 8 Apr 1971.
See Who Was Who among English and European Authors, 1931-1949 : based on entries first appeared in The Author's and Writer's Who's Who&Reference Guide, originally compiled by Edward Martell and L.G. Pine, and in Who's Who among Living Authors of Older Nations, originally compiled by Alberta Lawrence, Gale composite biographical dictionary series, 2 (Detroit : Gale Research, c1978).
From the guide to the Papers of James McLeod Wyllie, 1958 - 1970, (University of Aberdeen)
