Thomas Murray (1792–15 April 1872) was a Scottish printer and writer. His most noted work is ''The Literary History of Galloway''.

Life

Born into a working-class family in the parish of Girthon,

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative count ...

, Murray was educated at the parish school, and 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 ...

, which he entered in 1810.

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...

, Alexander Murray and he were early friends, and walked together from

Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or ...

to Edinburgh each session during their university career. A regular correspondence passed between Carlyle and Murray for some years afterwards. Murray was destined for the ministry of 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 ...

, however after obtaining his licence and preaching for some time, he took to writing. He became connected with

Sir David Brewster Sir David Brewster KH PRSE FRS FSA Scot FSSA MICE (11 December 178110 February 1868) was a British scientist, inventor, author, and academic administrator. In science he is principally remembered for his experimental work in physical optics ...

and the staff of writers on '' Brewster's Cyclopædia'', and from contact with

Leonard Horner Leonard Horner FRSE FRS FGS (17 January 1785 – 5 March 1864) was a Scottish merchant, geologist and educational reformer. He was the younger brother of Francis Horner. Horner was a founder of the School of Arts of Edinburgh, now Heriot-Wa ...

and

John Ramsay McCulloch John Ramsay McCulloch (1 March 1789 – 11 November 1864) was a Scottish economist, author and editor, widely regarded as the leader of the Ricardian school of economists after the death of David Ricardo in 1823. He was appointed the first pr ...

became interested in

political economy Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour ...

. In 1843 he was one of the founders, and for many years afterwards (1843–72) secretary, of the Edinburgh Galloway Association; in 1846 he was one of the founders and original members of the Edinburgh Philosophical Institution (of which Thomas Carlyle was president till his death), and acted for about 30 years as secretary of the Edinburgh School of Arts (1844–72). For six years (1854–60) he was a member of the Edinburgh town council, where he acted with the Whig or moderate Liberal party. In the 1830s he is listed as living at 3 Albany Street in

Edinburgh's New Town The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of its original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture. Its best known street is Princes Stree ...

. In 1841 Murray established in Edinburgh the printing business of Murray & Gibb, successful, and later becoming Morrison & Gibb. He died on 15 April 1872 at Elm Bank, near

Lasswade Lasswade is a village and civil parish in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River North Esk, nine miles (14.5 kilometres) south of Edinburgh city centre, contiguous with Bonnyrigg and between Dalkeith to the east and Loanhead to the west. Melvil ...

. He is buried with his wife Janet Murray (1799-1889) and their five children against the south-east boundary wall of

Restalrig Restalrig () is a small residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland (historically, an estate and independent parish). It is located east of the city centre, west of Craigentinny and to the east of Lochend, both of which it overlaps. Restalri ...

Church in eastern

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 ...

Works

Murray's works, with pamphlets, were: * ''The Literary History of Galloway: from the Earliest Period to the Present Time'', Edinburgh, 1822. * ''The Life of Samuel Rutherford'', Edinburgh, 1828. * ''The Life of Robert Leighton, D.D., archbishop of Glasgow'', Edinburgh, 1828. * ''The Life of John Wycliffe'', Edinburgh, 1829. * ''Biographical Annals of the Parish of Colinton'', Edinburgh, 1863. He also edited Samuel Rutherford's ''Last Speeches of John, Viscount Kenmure'', Edinburgh, 1827; and ''Letters of David Hume'', Edinburgh, 1841.

Family

Murray left a widow Janet Murray (1799-1889), daughter of Alexander Murray of Wigton, and two daughters, one of whom married

William Wilson Hunter Sir William Wilson Hunter (15 July 18406 February 1900) was a Scottish historian, statistician, a compiler and a member of the Indian Civil Service. He is most known for '' The Imperial Gazetteer of India'' on which he started working in 1869 ...

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Thomas 1792 births 1872 deaths Scottish biographers Scottish book editors Scottish printers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century British businesspeople