The Hon John Maclaurin, Lord Dreghorn

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(15 December 1734 – 24 December 1796) was a Scottish advocate who rose to be a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...

. In 1783 he was one of the founders of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. He was a prolific author on both legal and literary issues.

Life

He was born on 15 December 1734 the son of Anne Stewart and the noted Scots mathematician,

Colin Maclaurin Colin Maclaurin (; gd, Cailean MacLabhruinn; February 1698 – 14 June 1746) was a Scottish mathematician who made important contributions to geometry and algebra. He is also known for being a child prodigy and holding the record for bei ...

. He was educated at the High School in Edinburgh 1745 to 1747 then studied law at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. He qualified as an advocate in 1756. Maclaurin lived in Dreghorn Castle near

Colinton Colinton ( gd, Baile Cholgain) is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland situated south-west of the city centre. Up until the late 18th century it appears on maps as Collington. It is bordered by Dreghorn to the south and Craiglockhart to the north ...

(just south of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

), acquired from the Home family. In 1757, Maclaurin wrote ''The Philosopher's Opera'', a ballad opera satirising the philosopher

David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment philo ...

's enthusiasm for the Rev.

John Home Rev John Home FRSE (13 September 1722 – 4 September 1808) was a Scottish minister, soldier and author. His play ''Douglas'' was a standard Scottish school text until the Second World War, but his work is now largely neglected. In 1783 he wa ...

's popular play, ''

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

'' (1756). In 1781 he was matriculated as Clan Chief of the Clan MacLaurin with origin in Tiree, by the Court of the

Lord Lyon King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grant ...

. Clan MacLaurin is considered a different lineage from the Balquhidder MacLarens. "In granting him (Major Donald MacLaren in 1957) the appropriate arms, with supporters, the Lord Lyon makes a distinction between the MacLarens of Balquhidder and Strathearn, and the MacLarens (MacLaurins) of Tiree, whose arms and descent are, his Lordship holds, those of a different race" Sir Thomas Innes of Learney 1957, via Elizabeth Roads, LVO, FSA, AIH., Snawdoun Herald, Lyon Keeper of the Records, Court of the

. In 1788 he was created a Senator of the College of Justice and given the title Lord Dreghorn, after his family home. In 1790 he entered a famous correspondence with

Lord Monboddo James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (baptised 25 October 1714; died 26 May 1799) was a Scottish judge, scholar of linguistic evolution, philosopher and deist. He is most famous today as a founder of modern comparative historical linguistics. In 1767 ...

regarding the exact location of

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

. He died on 24 December 1796. He is buried in

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a num ...

in central Edinburgh.

Publications

*''Apology for the Writers against the Tragedy of Douglas'' (1757) *''Hampden'' (1757) *''The Philosopher’s Opera'' (1757) *''The Keekeiad'' (1760) *''Considerations on the Right of Patronage'' (1766) *''Consideration on the Nature and Origin of Literary Property'' (1767) *''Essays in Verse'' (1769) *''Observations on some Points of Law with a System of the Judicial Law of Moses'' (1769) *''The Story of Zeyn Akasnam, Prince of Balsora'' (1770) *''Arguments and Decisions in the High Court'' (1774)

Family

In 1762 he married Esther Cunningham (died 1780).

In fiction

John Maclaurin features as a character in James Robertson's novel, '' Joseph Knight'' (2003).Robertson, James (2004), ''Joseph Knight'', Fourth Estate,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maclaurin, John 1734 births 1796 deaths Scottish lawyers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Senators of the College of Justice