Samuel Hunter (1769–1839) was a Scottish journalist, magistrate and officer of

yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army Reserve, descended from volunteer cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of different military roles. History Origins In the 1790s, ...

. He was the editor of the ''

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

''.

Life

He was born on 19 March 1769 in the manse of Stoneykirk,

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975 the area has ...

the son of Rev John Hunter (1716–1781) and his second wife Margaret McHarg (d.1786). Receiving his elementary education there, he qualified as a surgeon 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 , ...

, and for a time, about the end of the 18th century, practised his profession in Ireland. Somewhat later he acted as captain in the North Lowland Regiment of

fencibles The Fencibles (from the word ''defencible'') were British regiments raised in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and in the Crown colony, colonies for defence against the threat of invasion during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independe ...

, and settled in Glasgow. On 10 January 1803 Hunter became editor and co-proprietor of the ''Glasgow Herald and Advertiser'', to which he then for 34 years spent most of his time running. Soon afterwards, in a French invasion scare, he figured first as major in a corps of gentlemen sharpshooters, and secondly as colonel commandant of the fourth regiment of Highland local militia. Sitting on Glasgow town council, Hunter also rose to be a magistrate. He was an implacable opponent of political reform and in 1820 fresh military activity in response to radical unrest brought him forward as commander of a choice corps of gentlemen known as the Glasgow Sharpshooters.Craig, Maggie (2020), ''One Week in April: The Scottish Radical Rising of 1820'', Birlinn, pp. xvi