Born on 27 June 1879, Sir Auckland Campbell Geddes was Professor of Anatomy at McGill from 1913 to 1914, and later served as British Minister of National Service from 1917 to 1919.
He was appointed Principal in 1919 but never undertook his official duties. He resigned in 1920 when appointed British Ambassador to the United States. For most of Geddes' brief tenure Frank Dawson Adams, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science, served as Acting Principal.