John Hill Burton
| John Hill Burton | |
|---|---|
| Born | 22 August 1809 Aberdeen, Scotland |
| Died | 10 August 1881 (aged 71) Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Occupation | historian, jurist, economist |
John Hill Burton FRSE (22 August 1809 – 10 August 1881) was a Scottish advocate, historian and economist. The author of "Life and Correspondence of David Hume", he was secretary of the Scottish Prison Board (1854-77), and Historiographer Royal (1867-1881).
Burton was born in Aberdeen, the son of W K Burton by his spouse Eliza Paton. He was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and Marischal College. After graduating, he moved to Edinburgh and studied for the Bar, being admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1831. However, he had little practice, and in 1854 was appointed Secretary to the Prison Board of Scotland, and in 1877 a Commissioner of Prisons.
He became at an early period of his life a contributor to Blackwood's Magazine and other periodicals, and in 1846 published a life of David Hume, which attracted considerable attention, and was followed by Lives of Lord Lovat and Lord President Forbes. He began his career as a historian by the publication in 1853 of History of Scotland from the Revolution to the Extinction of the last Jacobite Insurrection, to which he added (1867-70) History of Scotland from Agricola's Invasion to the Revolution, in 7 vols., thus completing a continuous narrative. Subsequently he published a History of the Reign of Queen Anne (1880). Other works of a lighter kind were The Book-Hunter (1862), and The Scot Abroad (1864). Burton's historical works display much research and a spirit of candour and honesty, and have picturesque and spirited passages, but the style is unequal, and frequently lacks dignity. Nevertheless, he was one of the first historians to introduce the principles of historical research into the study and writing of the history of Scotland.
John Hill Burton married Isabella née Lauder (1810 - 1850) and died at Morton House, Edinburgh. He was interred in Dalmeny Cemetery, but a monument to him, his wife and children is in Dean Cemetery where they are buried.
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Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Burton, John Hill. |
[edit] References
- The Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh edited by A S Cowper, and Euan S McIver, Edinburgh, 1992, ISBN 0-901061-54-9
- Cousin, John William (1910). "
Burton, John Hill". A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London: J. M. Dent & Sons. Wikisource - This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Cousin, John William (1910). A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London, J. M. Dent & Sons; New York, E. P. Dutton.
- Masson, David (1892). "John Hill Burton". Edinburgh Sketches and Memories. London: Adam and Charles Black. pp. 372–383. http://books.google.com/books?id=V8ouAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA372.
[edit] Sources
[edit] External links
- Lives of Simon Lord Lovat, and Duncan Forbes, of Culloden John Hill Burton, 1847, (Chapman & Hall, London)
- Narratives from criminal trials in Scotland, Vol. 2 John Hill Burton, 1852, (Chapman & Hall, London)
- 1809 births
- 1881 deaths
- People from Aberdeen
- Scottish historians
- Scottish scholars and academics
- Scottish economists
- Members of the Faculty of Advocates
- People educated at Aberdeen Grammar School
- Alumni of the University of Aberdeen
- Scottish biographers
- Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
- 19th-century Scottish people
- Historians of Scotland
