James Hay Beattie (6 November 1768 – 19 November 1790) was a Scottish scholar, the son of Dr. James Beattie, author of the ''Minstrel''.

Life

He was born in Aberdeen on 6 November 1768. Having received the rudiments of his education at the grammar school of his native city, he was entered, in his thirteenth year, as a student in

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 the first he showed premature capacity. He took his degree of M.A. in 1786. In June 1787, when he was not quite nineteen, on the unanimous recommendation of the Senatus Academicus of

, he was appointed by the king "assistant professor and successor to his father" in the chair of moral philosophy and logic. Although very young, he fulfilled the requirements of his position. He was studious and variously cultured, being especially devoted to music. But his career was destined to be brief. On 30 November 1789, he was prostrated by fever. He lingered in "uttermost weakness" for a year, and died 19 November 1790, in his twenty-second year. In 1794, his heart-broken father privately printed his "Remains" in prose and verse, and prefixed a "Life". The book was published in 1799.

Notes

References

;Attribution *; Endnotes: **Beattie's Life of his son. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beattie, James Hay 1768 births 1790 deaths Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Scottish writers Writers from Aberdeen