David Peacock ( – 3 August 1853) was a Scottish journalist, editor, author and historian. In 1849, he published the 632-page ''Perth: Its Annals and Archives'', which is regarded as a comprehensive account of the history of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. Born in Forfar, he moved to Perth "in the prime of his manhood", and lived there for over thirty years. He became known as a "highly esteemed, respectable, and useful citizen". Shortly after arriving in Perth, he began working as the Precentor of the East Parish Church, while also filling the role of the music teacher in the Burgh Seminary. He led the choir at Blair Church when

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

visited the Duke of Atholl in 1842. He also worked as a reporter for the ''Perth Courier'' and, later, the ''Constitutional'', after it moved operations to Perth from

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

. He succeeded George Buist as its editor. In October 1847, Peacock retired from editing and was appointed to the Mastership of Perth's King James VI Hospital. Two years later, he published ''Perth: Its Annals and Archives'', which was printed by William Belford of the Perth Printing Company.

Death

Peacock died on 3 August 1853, aged 65. He was interred in Perth's

Wellshill Cemetery Wellshill Cemetery is a 19th-century cemetery in the Scottish city of Perth, Perth and Kinross. Located on Feus Road, the cemetery is still operational and is under the control of Perth and Kinross Council. In general the grounds are well-landsc ...

. His widow erected a monument in his memory.

Bibliography

* ''Perth: Its Annals and Its Archives'' (Thomas Richardson, 1894)

References

* 1787 births 1853 deaths Writers from Perth, Scotland {{Scotland-writer-stub People from Forfar 19th-century Scottish writers