James Bell (1769 – 3 May 1833) was a Scottish geographical author.

Biography

He was born in

Jedburgh Jedburgh (; gd, Deadard; sco, Jeddart or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the historic county of Roxburghshire, the name of which was randomly chosen for Operation Jedburgh in su ...

in 1769. At the age of eight he went to Glasgow, where his father, the Rev. Thomas Bell, was appointed, in 1777, minister of Dovehill Chapel. A sickly child, he managed to acquire an education. His first employment was as a weaver, serving an apprenticeship. In 1790 he went into trade on his own account, as a manufacturer of cotton goods. In the mercantile depression of 1793, he gave up his business, and for some years was as a warper in the warehouses of manufacturers. His father gave him a small annuity which allowed him to study. About 1806 he began to earn a livelihood as tutor in Greek and Latin to university students. Subject to attacks of

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

to which he had always been subject, he left Glasgow about ten or twelve years before his death and retired into the country, living in a cottage at

Campsie, Stirlingshire Campsie is a civil parish in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The parish was formerly part of Stirlingshire. Settlements *Auchenreoch * Clachan of Campsie *Haughhead *Lennoxtown *Milton of Campsie * Torrance *Baldernock (at one time the parish enco ...

, twelve miles north of Glasgow. There he died on 3 May 1833, and was buried.

Works

Bell first published about 1815, when he contributed chapters to the ''Glasgow Geography'', a popular work published by Khull, Blackie, & Co. In 1824 he wrote ''An Examination of the various Opinions that have been held respecting the Sources of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

and the Correctness of the Lama's Map of

Thibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

.'' It was published as Article 2 in ''Critical Researches in Philology and Geography'', an anonymous volume, the joint work of James Bell and a young student John Bell (no relation). He was then given the task of preparing and editing an unabridged edition of

Charles Rollin Charles Rollin (January 30, 1661 in Paris - December 14, 1741 in Paris) was a French historian and educator, whose popularity in his time combined with becoming forgotten by later generations makes him an epithet, applied to historians such as J ...

's ''Ancient History'', Glasgow, 1828, 3 vols. The notes, with the life of the author by Bell, made its reputation. It was followed by his ''System of Geography, Popular and Scientific'', Glasgow, 1830, 6 vols. The chapters on the history of geography contained in the third volume of Rollin and in the sixth volume of his 'System of Geography' were followed by other authors. Posthumous was ''A Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales'', Glasgow 1836, 4 vols. had a section on the cartography of England and Wales, compiled mainly from

Richard Gough Charles Richard Gough (born 5 April 1962) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Gough played in the successful Dundee United team of the early 1980s, winning the Scottish league title in 1982–83 and reachi ...

's ''British Topography''. Bell's way of working was at issue in a later court case brought by Samuel Lewis against

Archibald Fullarton Archibald Fullarton and Co. was a prominent publisher in Glasgow in the 1800s, and maintained a prodigious output of books, atlases and maps. History The company produced the last maps to boast decorative vignettes, often done by George Heriot Sw ...

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, James 1769 births 1833 deaths Scottish geographers People from Jedburgh