William Fraser Tytler of Balnain

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 ...

(10 September 1777–4 September 1853) was a 19th-century Scottish lawyer and historian.

Life

He was born at Campbells Close on the Grassmarket in Edinburgh on 10 September 1777 the son of Anne Fraser of Balnain and

Alexander Fraser Tytler Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee FRSE (15 October 17475 January 1813) was a Scottish advocate, judge, writer and historian who was a Professor of Universal History, and Greek and Roman Antiquities at the University of Edinburgh. Life ...

. He was the grandson of William Tytler of Woodhouselee. He trained as a lawyer and qualified as an advocate in 1799. He set up practice at 65

Princes Street Princes Street ( gd, Sràid nam Prionnsan) is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three ...

in Edinburgh. In 1801 he succeeded his father as Professor of Constitutional and Universal History at the University of Edinburgh. He then moved to 7 South Castle Street. He was elected a Fellow 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 ...

in 1807. His proposers were Thomas Charles Hope, Sir James Hall and John Playfair. In 1810 he was appointed Sheriff of

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

. This was possibly pre-empted by his inheriting his mother's family home: Balnain House near Inverness. However, he frequently returned to Edinburgh (to continue his professorial duties) staying with his mother at 108

. He was heavily criticised for his lack of attendance at the University of Edinburgh and eventually relinquished his position in 1821. In Inverness he worshipped at St John's Episcopal Church. In December 1846 Fraser Tytler alerted the authorities in Edinburgh to the famine developing in the Western Isles as a result of the loss of the potato crop to blight. This resulted in an investigation by the Army

Commissariat A commissariat is a department or organization commanded by a commissary or by a corps of commissaries. In many countries, commissary is a police rank. In those countries, a commissariat is a police station commanded by a commissary. In some ar ...

and the dispatch of the gunboat ''Firefly'' to Barra with a relief supply of barley-meal. Eight men from Berneray sent for trial in Inverness for taking barrels of flour from the wreck of the cargo ship ''Superb'' which had run aground off the coast of North Uist were released by Fraser Tytler after being admonished, and returned home at his expense.James Hunter (2019), ''Insurrection: Scotland's Famine Winter'', Birlinn, pp. 12 - 13 & 102 - 107, Fraser Tytler died at

Great Malvern Great Malvern is an area of the spa town of Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, on the eastern flanks of the Worcestershire Beacon and North Hill, and is ...

on 4 September 1853, aged 75.

Family

In 1801 he married Margaret Cussans Grant, and together they had at least ten children. Their sons served in the Indian army or East India Company. His brothers were

James Fraser Tytler James Fraser Tytler of Woodhouselee WS FRSE (1780–1862) was a 19th-century Scottish lawyer and Depute to the Lord Lyon, dealing with heraldic matters. Life He was born in or near Edinburgh on 9 October 1780, the son of the eminent judge, ...

and Patrick Fraser Tytler.

Publications

*''A Universal History'' (1850)

References

1777 births 1853 deaths Lawyers from Edinburgh Academics of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century Scottish historians Scottish Episcopalians Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh {{Scotland-bio-stub