William Lennie (c. 1779–1852) was a Scottish grammarian. He was the author of textbooks on English grammar, including ''The Principles of English Grammar'', which became a widely used textbook in British and American schools.

Life

Lennie was born in 1778 or 1779. Lennie began his career as a teacher in

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 ...

in 1802. He authored textbooks on English grammar. His ''Principles of English Grammar'' was "universally used wherever the English language is spoken." Although remembered as a grammarian, all contemporary records list him as a "teacher of Geography" living at Alison Square. In the 1830s,

Peter Bullions Peter Bullions (December 1791 – February 20, 1864) was a Scottish-born American Presbyterian minister and grammarian. He was the author of several textbooks of English, Latin and Greek grammar as well as commentaries on Julius Caesar's ''Commenta ...

, another Scottish grammarian, revised ''The Principles of English Grammar'' book and sold it in the United States. Only later in life is Lennie listed as a "teacher of English", then living at 10 Nicolson Street. Around this time he inherited Ballochneck House near

Drymen Drymen (; from gd, Druiminn ) is a village in the Stirling district of central Scotland. Once a popular stopping place for cattle drovers, it is now popular with visiting tourists given its location near Loch Lomond. The village is centred arou ...

presumably from either his father or uncle. Lennie died on 20 July 1852 aged 73 in Edinburgh. at home 23 St Andrew Square. He is then described as "William Lennie of Ballochneck, teacher". He is buried in the

Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hil ...

in south Edinburgh. The grave lies midway along the north wall. Lennie had no wife or family and so left his estate to do good. His will, with other bequests, created four Lennie bursaries at

Edinburgh University 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 1582 ...

, for students seeking a literary education, that were notionally loans.

Selected works

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References

External links

Works by William Lennie
on the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Online Books by William Lennie
on the

Online Books Page The Online Books Page is an index of e-text books available on the Internet. It is edited by John Mark Ockerbloom and is hosted by the library of the University of Pennsylvania. The Online Books Page lists over 2 million books and has several feat ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lennie, William 1770s births 1852 deaths Writers from Edinburgh Scottish grammarians Burials at the Grange Cemetery Philanthropists from Edinburgh