William Tilden McClain, son of Mary and Harry McClain and an elder brother to David Jack McClain was born on 14 January 1923 in Shelbyville, Indiana. McClain was academically oriented and studied law at Indiana School of Law, graduating Magna cum laude. While studying, he excelled in boxing, sailing and shooting. He was keenly involved in the civil rights movement and labour issues. After graduating from Law School, he worked on the Industrial Labour Board of the State of Indiana and served as Deputy District Attorney for Illinois.
McClain as a young man
In 1945 he married his first wife Sara Jane Chapman. They had three children - David, Sarah and Andrew. Following his desire to study anthropology he moved his family to London to study at the London School of Oriental and African Studies. During this time McClain began to attend meetings of the African National Congress and befriended members of the organisation. In 1960 he went to Kenya to do research and field work in African customary law. This was the beginning of his career which spanned decades across many African countries. This period of his work took him to Swaziland where he met May Vuyelwa Hillary. They were married in 1961 in London and had three children - Charlotte, Khetiwe and Themba. His career as a Law Professor started at the Law Institute in Malawi, from where he moved on to teach at the School of Law at the University of Dar es Salaam. In 1964 he was part of an initial team of lawyers that established the law faculty at the University of Zambia. He was appointed Dean at the Faculty of Law at UNZA. En route to Zambia, he was arrested by the Portuguese Policia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado (PIDA) for his association with the ANC and FRELIMO.
In 1977, McClain joined the faculty of law as a Professor at the National University of Lesotho. Events at this time propelled his involvement in the African National Congress and his support and mentorship of student politics.
William McClain
After the unbanning of the ANC, he realised his dream to live in a free South Africa with his wife, family and friends.
His life was a constant quest for knowledge of the law, politics, literature, the arts and an eclectic taste of music. Obsessed by reading he also thrived on dialogue and discussion on a wide range of issues. McClain will be remembered for the way in which he inspired and shaped not only the lives of his family but many beyond.