Archbishop of York. Born in Edinburgh, the son of a physician, Maclagan was educated at the Royal High School in the city. He began his career in the Indian Army and served for five years before returning to Peterhouse College, Cambridge, in 1852. Maclagan graduated in mathematics four years later and was ordained as a Deacon the same year. He rose through the English church hierarchy, becoming Rector at Newington (1869), Vicar at Kensington (1875) and Bishop of Lichfield (1878). He served as Archbishop of York from 1891, resigning in 1908.
His son, Sir Eric Robert Dalrymple Maclagan (1879 - 1951), became Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.