William Macmahon Ball, AC (29 August 1901 – 26 December 1986) was an Australian academic and diplomat.
Life and career Born in Casterton, Victoria, he was educated at Caulfield Grammar School and the University of Melbourne, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree, Ball studied both psychology and political science as a research fellow at Melbourne and the London School of Economics respectively. He then travelled Europe as a Carnegie Travelling Fellow, and during the Munich crisis was the first foreigner allowed to visit Sachsenhausen concentration camp in several years.
He was a notable diplomat, working as an advisor to the Australian delegation at the San Francisco conference of the United Nations in 1945, Australian Minister to Japan, and British Commonwealth representative to the Allied Conference.
He later became a professor of political science at Melbourne University, and was a regular broadcaster on both the ABC and BBC. He was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1978 "for service to education and learning particularly in field of political science".Australian Honours (2006). BALL, William MacMahon. Retrieved 12 June 2006.
Ball was interviewed in 1971 by Hazel de Berg about his life and career. The recording can be found at the National Library of Australia.Ball, W. M.; de Berg, H. (interviewer). (1971). William Macmahon Ball interviewed by Hazel de Berg in the Hazel de Berg collection [sound recording], National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
See also List of Caulfield Grammar School people
References
External links William Macmahon Ball - The University of Melbourne 150 Years: 150 Stories Guide to the Papers of William Macmahon Ball - National Library of Australia
Further reading Peter Ryan, William Macmahon Ball: A Memoir (1990) Ai Kobayashi, W. Macmahon Ball: Politics for the People (2013)