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Hon David Douglas, Lord Reston
FRSE
Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
(24 July 1769 – 23 April 1819) was a
Scottish judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
and a cousin and the heir of
Adam Smith
Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...
.
Life
He was born on 24 July 1769, in Strathendry, the fifth and youngest son of Cecilia Craigie, daughter of
Robert Craigie
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
, Lord President of the Court of Session, and Col. Robert Douglas of Strathendry (1716–1803). He spent his later childhood with
Adam Smith
Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...
, who was a first cousin of his father, and received Smith's property, including his library, on his death.
He attended
Edinburgh High School
The Royal High School (RHS) of Edinburgh is a co-educational school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland. It serves 1,200 pupils drawn from four feeder primar ...
(with
Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
), 1777–1782, and then 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 ...
, where he studied under Millar. It is set down in the History of the Speculative Society that he read a paper there on 30 November 1790 on "The Effects of Taxation on the Necessaries of Life." He qualified as an Advocate in 1791, and became
Sheriff-Depute of Berwickshire in 1809. In 1813 he succeeded
William Craig, Lord Craig as Lord of Session 1813, and in 1816 he succeeded
Lord Meadowbank as Lord of Justiciary, at which point he adopted the title Lord Reston. He was also a Senator of the Royal College of Justice.
In 1790, on the death of his father's cousin,
Adam Smith
Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...
, he inherited his vast and valuable library of books.
In January 1817 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...
. His proposers were
David Hume
David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment philo ...
,
Thomas Charles Hope
Thomas Charles Hope (21 July 1766 – 13 June 1844) was a British physician, chemist and lecturer. He proved the existence of the element strontium, and gave his name to Hope's Experiment, which shows that water reaches its maximum density at ...
, and James Russell. His Edinburgh townhouse address at this time was 51 Northumberland Street in the
New Town
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
.
He operated what was called the Northern Circuit (of Scottish courts) in conjunction with Lord Gillies.
He died at the Glendoick estate near Perth on 23 April 1819 while visiting his father-in-law, Major John Craigie, just prior to a planned trip to visit Lord Kinnaird in his recently completed house,
Rossie Priory
Rossie Priory is a category B listed country house and estate to the north of Inchture, near the hamlets of Baledgarno and Knapp, Perthshire, Scotland. It lies by road west of the city centre of Dundee. The large estate is roughly 2000 acres. ...
. On Thursday 27 April he was buried in the burial ground of his father's cousin
Adam Smith
Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...
in
Canongate Kirkyard
The Canongate Kirkyard ( en, Churchyard) stands around Canongate Kirk on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland. The churchyard was used for burials from the late 1680s until the mid-20th century.
The most celebrated burials at the kirkyard are ...
on the
Royal Mile
The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...
in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
.
Family
In 1805 he married Elizabeth Craigie, his first cousin, and they had four children:
1. Elizabeth Craigie Douglas (1808–22)
2. Cecilia Margaret Douglas (1813–98), who married the Rev. William Bruce Cunningham; amongst their children were
Robert Oliver Cunningham
Robert Oliver Cunningham (27 March 1841 – 1918) was a Scottish naturalist.
Birth and early life
Cunningham was born on 27 March 1841, in Prestonpans, the second son of the Rev. William Bruce Cunningham (1806–78), Free Church of Scotland minis ...
and
David Douglas Cunningham
David Douglas Cunningham (29 September 1843 – 31 December 1914) was a Scottish doctor and researcher who worked extensively in India on various aspects of public health and medicine. He studied the spread of bacteria and the spores of fungi t ...
3. Adam Smith Douglas (1816–38)
4. David Anne Douglas (1819–79), who married the
Rev James Bannerman, whose son was Rev David Douglas Bannerman
References
* Brunton and Haig's ''Historical Account of the
Senators of the College of Justice
The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...
'', Edinburgh, 1832, p. 549.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, David, Lord Reston
1769 births
1819 deaths
Reston
Scottish sheriffs
Burials at the Canongate Kirkyard