A note from Andrew Johnson, Partner, The White Horse Press.
We are sad to report the death of Professor John M. MacKenzie on 18 September 2026.
I first met John 35 years ago to discuss the feasibility of a new environmental history journal, and he was a member of the editorial board when Environment and History was launched in 1995. A few years later, when relations broke down between the publishers and the journal’s brilliant founding Editor, Richard H. Grove, we were able to persuade a reluctant John to take over as the head of a new Editorial Collective. In this role he steered the journal through some rough waters and set a course leading to its subsequent success.
Since our first acquaintance I came to admire John for his extraordinary breadth of scholarship, his punctilious editorial skills, his civic responsibilities as a magistrate and, not least, his charming and hospitable company. I particularly recall John taking us to a windswept spot on the Lancashire coast to visit the grave of a slave, and his evident compassion for the unfortunate victim.
We shall remember him as an honourable man and a wise friend.
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