George Lewis Scott (1708–1780) was a mathematician and literary figure who was tutor to the future

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

from 1751 to 1755. A friend of the historian

Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, is k ...

, the poet James Thomson and other members of the

Georgian era The Georgian era was a period in British history from 1714 to , named after the Hanoverian Kings George I, George II, George III and George IV. The definition of the Georgian era is often extended to include the relatively short reign of Willi ...

literary world, he was described as 'perhaps the most accomplished of all amateur mathematicians who never gave their works to the world'. He was married for a short time to the writer

Sarah Scott Sarah Scott (née Robinson) (21 September 1720 – 3 November 1795) was an English novelist, translator, social reformer, and member of the Bluestockings. Her most famous work was her utopian novel '' A Description of Millenium Hall and the Cou ...

but they separated after less than a year. His younger brother Caroline Frederick Scott was an army officer, who gained a reputation for brutality in the aftermath of the

1745 Jacobite Rising The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took pl ...

Life

George Lewis Scott was born in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

in 1708, eldest of three sons of James (or George) Scott and Marion Stewart, daughter of Sir James Stewart,

Lord Advocate , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Dorothy Bain QC.png , incumbent = Dorothy Bain KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , appointer = Monarch on the advice ...

of Scotland. His father was a close friend of

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgor ...

, then Elector

and held diplomatic posts at various German courts. Hanover's involvement in the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

made this an extremely sensitive and important position and James was closely involved in negotiations to end it. His younger brother Caroline Frederick (ca 1711-1754) was named after Caroline of Ansbach (1683-1737), wife of

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) * ...

and mother of the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedo ...

. When James died in 1726, Marion moved to the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

so her children could attend

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

. George also studied law at Middle Temple in London, although he does not appear to have practised as a lawyer. In June 1751, he married the novelist Sarah Robinson; they separated in April 1752, George agreeing to pay her £100 per annum. The reasons are unclear but the two spoke of each other with bitterness for the rest of their lives.

Career

Middle Temple Hall Exterior, London, UK - Diliff

Middle Temple was one of the four

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...

, all located close to each other and while Scott rarely used his qualification, he made a number of friends there. They included the

encyclopaedist An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

Ephraim Chambers Ephraim Chambers ( – 15 May 1740) was an English writer and encyclopaedist, who is primarily known for producing the '' Cyclopaedia, or a Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences''. Biography Chambers was born in Milton near Kendal, Westmor ...

(1680-1740), who lived at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

and Thomas Robinson (1714-1747), brother of his future wife Sarah, who studied at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

. He began his literary career as part of a London circle of expatriate Scots, among them the poet James Thomson and publisher

Andrew Millar Andrew Millar (17058 June 1768) was a British publisher in the eighteenth century. Biography In 1725, as a twenty-year-old bookseller apprentice, he evaded Edinburgh city printing restrictions by going to Leith to print, which was considered be ...

. The three were members of the Society for the Encouragement of Learning, a society established in London in 1735 He became a

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

on 3 June 1736, and was made a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

on 5 May 1737. It is suggested he studied under the French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

mathematician,

Abraham De Moivre Abraham de Moivre FRS (; 26 May 166727 November 1754) was a French mathematician known for de Moivre's formula, a formula that links complex numbers and trigonometry, and for his work on the normal distribution and probability theory. He moved ...

, who lived in London for many years. He was certainly regarded as an expert in the field, as shown by his appointment to the

Board of Longitude The Commissioners for the Discovery of the Longitude at Sea, or more popularly Board of Longitude, was a British government body formed in 1714 to administer a scheme of prizes intended to encourage innovators to solve the problem of finding lon ...

in the 1760s. Through his mother, he was distantly related to

William Trail William Trail or Traill FRSE MRIA (23 June 1746 – 3 February 1831) was a Scots-born mathematician, remembered for his mathematical text books. For the majority of his life, he served church duties in Northern Ireland. Life Sources are un ...

(1746-1831), Chair of Mathematics at

Marischal College Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long- ...

from 1767 to 1779 and the two were frequent correspondents. The mathematician

Robert Simson Robert Simson (14 October 1687 – 1 October 1768) was a Scottish mathematician and professor of mathematics at the University of Glasgow. The Simson line is named after him. On occasion, Scott acted as a literary agent for former Jacobite statesman and

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

ideologue

Viscount Bolingbroke Viscount Bolingbroke is a current title in the Peerage of Great Britain created in 1712 for Henry St John. He was simultaneously made Baron St John, of Lydiard Tregoze in the County of Wilts. Since 1751, the titles are merged with the titles of ...

. In November 1750, Bolingbroke recommended Scott to

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fath ...

as a suitable sub-preceptor or tutor for his son, the future George III. The prospect of a steady income enabled Scott to marry Sarah Robinson, sister of his friend Thomas and they rented a house in

Leicester Square, London Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised town square, square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, Westminster, Leicester House, itself named ...

. When Frederick died in April 1751, his son became Prince of Wales and Thomas Hayter, Bishop of Norwich was appointed

preceptor A preceptor (from Latin, "''praecepto''") is a teacher responsible for upholding a ''precept'', meaning a certain law or tradition. Buddhist monastic orders Senior Buddhist monks can become the preceptors for newly ordained monks. In the Buddhi ...

or head tutor. Hayter was a political Whig, while Scott was viewed as a Jacobite and his cousin, the economist James Steuart, had been exiled for his part in the 1745 Rebellion. A memorandum was circulated, allegedly written by

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whigs (British political party), Whig politician. He had Strawb ...

, implying George was surrounded by Jacobites, leading to fierce political debate and divisions between Hayter, Scott and other members of the Prince's household. In April 1752, Sarah was removed from the family home by her father and brothers for undisclosed reasons, although there were a number of rumours. Scott agreed to pay her a pension of £100 per annum, although they never formally divorced. One suggestion was Scott poisoned her; discussing his education in later life, George III claimed Hayter was responsible for this. Thomas Paine by Matthew Pratt, 1785-95

When he died in 1740, Chambers left materials for a supplement to his '' Dictionary of Arts and Sciences''. Scott was asked to prepare these for publication; the two volumes appeared in 1753 and he is said to have received £1,500 for his services. Although he was dismissed as George's tutor in 1755, he was appointed a commissioner of

Excise file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...

in 1758 and served on the

, testimony to his reputation as a mathematician. In 1767,

and

Jacques Georges Deyverdun Jacques Georges Deyverdun (8 May 1734, in Lausanne – 4 July 1789, in Aix-les-Bains) was a Swiss classical scholar and translator. He translated Goethe's ''The Sorrows of Young Werther'' into French. Deyverdun met Edward Gibbon in Lausanne an ...

asked him to supply a paper ‘on the present state of the physical and mathematical sciences’ in England, for inclusion in the ''Mémoires Littéraires de la Grande-Bretagne''. In 1775, Gibbon sent him part of his ''

Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' is a six-volume work by the English historian Edward Gibbon. It traces Western civilization (as well as the Islamic and Mongolian conquests) from the height of the Roman Empire to th ...

'' for comments. As part of the London

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the in ...

, he frequently appears in letters from friends and acquaintances. He was considered an excellent musician, and helped

Johann Christoph Pepusch Johann Christoph Pepusch (1667 – 1752), also known as John Christopher Pepusch and Dr Pepusch, was a German-born composer who spent most of his working life in England. He was born in Berlin, son of a vicar, and was married to Margherita de l ...

with a paper for the Royal Society on

ancient Greek music Music was almost universally present in ancient Greek society, from marriages, funerals, and religious ceremonies to theatre, folk music, and the ballad-like reciting of epic poetry. It thus played an integral role in the lives of ancient Greek ...

. George Rose, who was

Treasurer of the Navy The Treasurer of the Navy, originally called Treasurer of Marine Causes or Paymaster of the Navy, was a civilian officer of the Royal Navy, one of the principal commissioners of the Navy Board responsible for naval finance from 1524 to 1832. T ...

1807 to 1818 praised him as ‘amiable, honorable, temperate, and one of the sweetest dispositions I ever knew.’ Described as 'tall and big',

Fanny Burney Frances Burney (13 June 1752 – 6 January 1840), also known as Fanny Burney and later Madame d'Arblay, was an English satirical novelist, diarist and playwright. In 1786–1790 she held the post as "Keeper of the Robes" to Charlotte of Mecklen ...

described him as ‘very sociable and facetious.’ He was a close friend of

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

and Lord Auchinleck, father of the biographer

James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 (New Style, N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary the Englis ...

who records Scott was 'very kind and polite to me.' One of his most important connections was the political theorist

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

, who refers to him in 1779 and whose views on George III were allegedly gained from discussions with Scott. He also introduced him to

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

, an act with profound results for the US and Europe."Letter to the Honorable Henry Laurens, January 14, 1779" in Philip A. Foner, THE COMPLETE WRITINGS OF THOMAS PAINE, 2:1160-65. He died in London on 7 December 1780.

References

Sources

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External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, George Lewis 1708 births 1780 deaths Leiden University alumni English encyclopedists Fellows of the Royal Society