Welcome to Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- Over 60,000 biographies, 72 million words, 11,000 portraits of significant, influential or notorious figures who shaped British history – perform advanced search
- Life of the day now available by email or RSS feed.
- Learn about our editors and read the Letter from the General Editor Professor Sir David Cannadine.
What's new
What’s New: September 2023
This month’s update, introduced by Hannah Smith, adds the lives of 22 people connected with equestrianism in modern Britain, including Dorothy Brooke, Marjorie Bullows, Eva Christy, Tony Collings, Ruby Ferguson, Maxwell McTaggart, Harry Faudel-Phillips, and Dorian Williams. Read the introduction.
Featured
McTaggart, Maxwell Fielding (1874–1936), army officer, showjumper, and equestrian writer
After retiring from the army, Maxwell McTaggart devoted his life to improving horsemanship in Britain. He was the leading British proponent of the ‘forward seat’ (as opposed to leaning back) when jumping, championed the astride seat for women, and advocated the foundation of what evolved to become the British Horse Society.
