James Campbell Irons FRSE SSC (1840-1910) was a Scottish lawyer, historical author and amateur geologist.

Life

He was born in Dundee on 24 April 1840 the son of David Irons and Mary Bonella. His father was a grocer and tobacconist living and working at 59 Overgate in Dundee. He trained as a lawyer in

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

and in 1864 he was appointed Depute Town Clerk of

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

. He was admitted to the

Society of Solicitors in the Supreme Courts of Scotland The Society of Solicitors in the Supreme Courts of Scotland is a voluntary professional association of solicitors in Scotland, representing lawyers who practise in and around the College of Justice. The College of Justice comprises Scotland's t ...

in 1867 and practised law in the firm of Irons Roberts & Co SSC in Leith, then in the city of Edinburgh as J. Campbell Irons & Co. In 1870 he was working as a lawyer in

at 19 Charlotte Street (now known as Queen Charlotte Street). He was then living at 6 Haddington Place, a relatively opulent Georgian flat near the top of

Leith Walk Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the main road connecting the centre of the city to Leith. Forming most of the A900 road, it slopes downwards from Picardy Place at the south-western end of the street to th ...

. In 1892 he had offices at both 22 York Place in Edinburgh's First New Town plus 10 Bernard Street in

, whilst living at 9 Windsor Street in Edinburgh's East End. He was solicitor in Scotland for the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

, the education Department and the Prison Commissioners. In 1898 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Andrew Beatson Bell, John Sturgeon Mackay,

James Geikie James Murdoch Geikie PRSE FRS LLD (23 August 1839 – 1 March 1915) was a Scottish geologist. He was professor of geology at Edinburgh University from 1882 to 1914. Life Education He was born in Edinburgh, the son of James Stuart Geikie a ...

and

Peter Guthrie Tait Peter Guthrie Tait FRSE (28 April 1831 – 4 July 1901) was a Scottish mathematical physicist and early pioneer in thermodynamics. He is best known for the mathematical physics textbook ''Treatise on Natural Philosophy'', which he co-wrote wi ...

. In 1909 his offices moved to 19 Dundas Street. He died on 9 September 1910 and is buried in

Rosebank Cemetery Rosebank Cemetery is a 19th-century cemetery in Edinburgh. It is located at the junction of Pilrig Street and Broughton Road in the Pilrig area, close to the historical boundary of Leith. The cemetery is protected as a category C listed buildi ...

in north Edinburgh, just north of the Christian Salvesen monument.

Family

He married Eliza Anne Blackwell (1841-1901) on 4 September 1867 and had five sons, two of whom became lawyers.

Publications

*''Manual of Police Law and Practice'' (1862) *''The Scottish Justices Manual'' *''The Burgh Police Act 1892'' (1893) *''Manual of the Law and Practice of the Dean of Guild Court'' (1895) *'' Dr Croll’s Life and Work'' (1896) *''

and Its Antiquities'' *''Treatise on Law and Arbitration in Scotland'' (1903)

References

1840 births 1910 deaths Amateur geologists Scottish non-fiction writers People from Dundee Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Writers from Dundee {{Scotland-law-bio-stub