Colin Macfarquhar (1744/5 – 2 April 1793) was a Scottish bookseller and printer who is most known for co-founding ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'' with Andrew Bell, first published in December 1768. The dates of his birth and death remain uncertain, even to Britannica itself.

Biography

Macfarquhar was born in

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 ...

to his father James Macfarquhar who was a wigmaker and his mother Margaret. His formal education ended when he was apprenticed to a printing firm and achieved the status of a master printer in 1767. On 13 December 1767 Macfarquhar married Jane whose father, James Scruton, was an accountant in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. Macfarquhar and Jane had one son and four daughters. Macfarquhar opened a printing shop in

one or two years after getting married. The first edition of Britannica was sold at his printing office in Nicolson Street. Macfarquhar also contributed heavily to the second and third editions of Britannica.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macfarquhar, Colin 1740s births 1793 deaths Scottish booksellers Scottish printers Scottish company founders Contributors to the Encyclopædia Britannica Publishers (people) from Edinburgh Scottish encyclopedists 18th-century Scottish businesspeople