Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford FRSE (; 29 February 1820

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– 20 January 1887) was a Scottish advocate and judge. He was the founder of the

Gifford Lectures The Gifford Lectures () are an annual series of lectures which were established in 1887 by the will of Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford. Their purpose is to "promote and diffuse the study of natural theology in the widest sense of the term – in o ...

Life

Gifford was born in

on 29 February 1820 to Katherine Ann (née West) (1786–1873) and James Gifford (1780–1862), an affluent grocer and Treasurer of the

Merchant Company of Edinburgh The Royal Company of Merchants of the City of Edinburgh, previously known as the Merchant Company of Edinburgh is a mercantile company and Guild officially recognised in 1681, but dating back to at least 1260. The Company, or Confraternity, was ...

. His twin brother was John Gifford (1820–1895). His childhood home was at 22 Union Place in the east end of the New Town. He went to school at Edinburgh Institution (now known as Stewart's Melville) and in 1835 was apprenticed to be a solicitor with his uncle, Alexander Gifford SSC at 2 Hill Square on the south side of the city. He then studied law at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and was called to the bar as an advocate in 1849. He was a Radical in politics, and expected no appointment from Government, until he was made an advocate depute in 1861, under

Palmerston Palmerston may refer to: People * Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer * Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston ** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman an ...

. He prosecuted cases for the Crown including Jessie McLauchlan in the 1863 Sandyford murder case. He was appointed Sheriff of Orkney and Shetland in 1865, but delegated his duties to a resident sheriff-substitute and continued his private practice as an advocate. In 1870 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh his proposer was Sir Charles Neaves. At this stage in his life he lived at 4 Lower Joppa with his brother John on the eastern coastline of the city. His lucrative private practice as an advocate made him a fortune, which he bequeathed towards the endowment of the four

hips on natural theology in connection with each of the four universities in Scotland then extant (

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

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and St Andrews); he was a man of a philosophical turn of mind, and a student of the works of

Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, ...

. He held office as a judge from 1870 to 1881, despite symptoms of paralysis from 1872 onwards. On his resignation, due to ill-health, he was replaced by Patrick Fraser thereafter known as Lord Fraser. He died at his home, Granton House in

Granton, Edinburgh Granton is a district in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland. Granton forms part of Edinburgh's waterfront along the Firth of Forth and is, historically, an industrial area having a large harbour. Granton is part of Edinburgh's large scale waterf ...

Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1887 on 20 January 1887 and is buried in Old Calton Cemetery with his parents.

Family

In 1863 he married Margaret Elliot Pott (1842–1868), 22 years his junior. They had one son, Herbert James Gifford FRSE (born 1864) who became a civil engineer. Margaret died aged 26 (probably in childbirth). He was the uncle of Sir Walter Raleigh (1861–1922), the professor of English at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

References

Oxford DNBGifford Lectures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gifford, Adam 1820 births 1887 deaths Lawyers from Edinburgh Senators of the College of Justice Scottish Christians Burials at Old Calton Burial Ground Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 19th-century Scottish judges Members of the Faculty of Advocates People educated at Stewart's Melville College Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish sheriffs