John MacDougall Hay (23 October 1880 – 10 December 1919) was a Scottish novelist. He was born and grew up in Tarbert, Argyll. He graduated in 1900 with an M.A. from the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. He was initially a school teacher in Stornaway, but then became a

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

minister. He was the father of Sheena Campbell Hay (1911–1987) and

George Campbell Hay George Campbell Hay (1915–1984) was a Scottish Symbolist poet and translator, who wrote in Scottish Gaelic, Scots and English. He used the patronymic Deòrsa Mac Iain Dheòrsa. He also wrote poetry in French, Italian and Norwegian, and t ...

, the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

poet. He is mainly known for his novel ''Gillespie'' (1914), (brief biography) set in a fictionalised version of his home town of Tarbert. It received favourable reviews when it was published in 1914, but was largely forgotten until it was re-discovered in the late 20th century. He also wrote a second novel ''Barnacles'' (1916), and a collection of poems ''Their Dead Sons'' (1918). In the year of his death, he was planning a third novel set in the Church of Scotland and to be entitled ''The Martyr''. In poor health for much of his adult life, he died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

at the age of only 39.

References

Scottish novelists 1880 births 1919 deaths Scottish Renaissance 20th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Alumni of the University of Glasgow People from Kintyre Tuberculosis deaths in Scotland {{UK-novelist-stub