He was born on 9 April 1909, the son of Laurence Millar Mackenzie WS (1860–1932) and his wife Anna Marion McClymont. They lived at 63 Morningside Park in
Edinburgh. After schooling at
Edinburgh Academy, Mackenzie studied
classics at
Balliol College, Oxford, where he graduated with a
double first, and then obtained a
Bachelor of Laws degree at the
University of Edinburgh. In 1933 he was appointed
fellow in classics at
Magdalen College, Oxford, before switching fields to teach
Philosophy, Politics and Economics. During
World War II he worked first at the
Air Ministry, and later with the
Special Operations Executive. After the war Mackenzie initially returned to Magdalen College, but in 1948 he was appointed chair of government and administration at the
University of Manchester. In 1966 he returned to Scotland as professor of politics at the
University of Glasgow. He died on 22 August 1996 and is buried with his family in
Morningside Cemetery, Edinburgh. ==Publications==