William Richardson FRSE (1 October 1743 – 3 November 1814) was a Scottish classicist and literary scholar. In 1783 he was a joint founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Life

Born in

Aberfoyle Aberfoyle may refer to: *Aberfoyle, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland *Aberfoyle, Stirling, Scotland * Aberfoyle, Ontario, Canada *Aberfoyle, Texas Aberfoyle is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Hunt County, Texas, Hunt Count ...

, Perthshire, he was the son of Rev. James Richardson, the

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 Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

parish minister of the same parish in which William was first educated. William attended 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 , ...

in 1757 where he focused on his talent for learning languages. He graduated MA from the University in 1763 and was employed by

Charles Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart Lieutenant-General Charles Schaw Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart, KT (21 March 1721 – 14 August 1776) was a British soldier and diplomat. He was also chief of the Clan Cathcart. Biography The son of Charles Cathcart, 8th Lord Cathcart, and Mari ...

, as tutor to his two sons. William travelled to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

with the Cathcart family, after Lord Cathcart was appointed ambassador to Russia in 1768. It was during these travels that Richardson described Russia through a series of letters. He later had them published, in 1784, under the title ''Anecdotes of the Russian Empire; in a series of letters, written, a few years ago, from St. Petersburg''. These letters would later go down as a very accurate detail of Russian society. After returning to Scotland in 1772, Richardson was appointed professor of humanities at the University of Glasgow in 1773. With the ability to attract many great scholars, and also being a very popular lecturer, Glasgow became a prestigious institution. Richardson would also publish five works criticizing

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

. Richardson was very interested in not only English literature, but he also read German, Italian, and French literature. He died a single man in his lodgings at

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

.Glasgow Post Office Directory 1817

References

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, William Academics of the University of Glasgow 1743 births 1814 deaths Writers about Russia People from Stirling (council area) Scottish classical scholars Scottish literary critics Founder Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Glasgow Scottish travel writers Historians of Russia Scottish linguists People of the Scottish Enlightenment

Life

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