Sir Alexander Napier, Lord Laurieston (c. 1578 – 1629) was a 17th-century Scottish landowner, judge and

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice in Scotland are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court ...

. He was half-brother of the mathematician

John Napier John Napier of Merchiston ( ; Latinisation of names, Latinized as Ioannes Neper; 1 February 1550 – 4 April 1617), nicknamed Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish landowner known as a mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. He was the 8 ...

Life

Scotia Depicta - Laureston Castle -Plate-

He was born in

Merchiston Castle Merchiston Tower, also known as Merchiston Castle, was probably built by Alexander Napier, the 2nd Laird of Merchiston around 1454. It serves as the seat for Clan Napier. It was the home of John Napier, the 8th Laird of Merchiston and the inv ...

the third son of the second marriage of Archibald Napier, 7th laird of

Merchiston Merchiston ( ) is a residential area around Merchiston Avenue in the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Location Merchiston Avenue is southwest of the West End of Edinburgh's principal street, Princes Street. Other areas near Merchiston inc ...

, and his wife, Elizabeth Mowbray, a daughter of John Mowbray of Barnbougle. He trained as a lawyer in nearby

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. In 1617 he inherited substantial lands in a barony in

Corstorphine Corstorphine (Scottish Gaelic: ''Crois Thoirfinn'') ( ) is an area of the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh. Formerly a separate village and parish to the west of Edinburgh, it is now a suburb of the city, having been formally incorporate ...

from either a half-brother or uncle. In 1622 he inherited the lands and barony of

Lauriston Castle Lauriston Castle is a 16th-century tower house with 19th-century extensions overlooking the Firth of Forth, in Edinburgh, Scotland. It lies on Cramond Road South, between Cramond, Davidson's Mains, and Silverknowes. The substantial grounds, La ...

close to

Cramond Cramond Village (; ) is a village and suburb in the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland, at the mouth of the River Almond where it enters the Firth of Forth. The Cramond area has evidence of Mesolithic, Bronze Age and Roman activity. In modern ...

(north-west of Edinburgh). However, he sold Lauriston to a John Cant in November of the same year. In February 1626 he was elected a

and took the title previously used by his father Lord Laurieston. He was also made

Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. The current Lord Justice Clerk is Lord Beckett, who was appointed to the position on 4 February 2025, succeeding Lady Dorr ...

. He served on the Privy Council to King

James VI James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

. He is often confused with his nephew

Archibald Napier, 1st Lord Napier Archibald Napier, 1st Lord Napier, the 9th Laird Napier of Merchiston (c. 1576 – November 1645), was a Scottish politician and judge. In 1627 he was created Lord Napier of Merchiston and Baronet of Nova Scotia. Biography Archibald Napier was t ...

, son of

, who was born at roughly the same time. He died in 1629.

Family

He married Mary (Elizabeth?) Crawfurd around 1600. They had three children, Alexander, Elizabeth and Margaret. Following the death of Lord Lauriston his wife married Robert McAlexander of Crossclays (Crosskeys). His sister Margaret married James Ogilvy, Lord Ogilvy and his sister Agnes married Sir Patrick Gray of Innergowrie.

Property

Merchiston Castle still survives and forms the centrepiece to

Napier University Edinburgh Napier University () is a public university in Edinburgh, Scotland. Napier Technical College, the predecessor of the university, was founded in 1964, taking its name from 16th-century Scottish mathematician and philosopher John Napie ...

, named in honour of his family.

and its grounds are in control of the

City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Dhùn Èideann'') is the local government authority covering the City of Edinburgh council area. Almost half of the council area is the built-up area of Edinburgh, capital of Sco ...

as a public park and museum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Napier, Alexander 1629 deaths Lawyers from Edinburgh 17th-century Scottish landowners

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

Senators of the College of Justice Year of birth uncertain