William Craig, Lord Craig

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

LLD (1745–1813) was a Scottish judge and essayist.

Life

He was born 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 ...

on 6 June 1745, the son of Rev William Craig DD (1709–1784) minister of St Andrew's Church in

. He studied at both the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

and the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

and graduated in Glasgow in 1763. He was admitted as an advocate at the

Scottish bar The Faculty of Advocates () is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a consti ...

in 1768. In 1784 he discharged the duties of

advocate-depute The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service () is the independent public prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by His Majesty's Lord Advocate, who under t ...

along with Robert Blair and Alexander Abercromby; and in 1787 he became sheriff-depute of Ayrshire. In 1783 he was a founder member of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. For most of his life he lived on the west side of George Square in southern Edinburgh (then a new building) but he moved to York Place in the

New Town New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

when it was first built.Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1797 In 1792, on the death of Lord Hailes, Craig was raised to the bench with the title of Lord Craig, though he had not held a prominent position at the bar. In 1795 he succeeded Lord Henderland as a legal lord of the

court of justiciary The High Court of Justiciary () is the Supreme Courts of Scotland, supreme Scottish criminal law, criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a court of first instance, trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Cour ...

, a post which he held till 1812. He retained his office in the civil court till his death 8 July 1813. He died at home, 10 York Place in the First New Town 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 ...

and is buried against the eastmost boundary wall of

Canongate Kirk The Kirk of the Canongate, or Canongate Kirk, serves the Parish of Canongate in Edinburgh's Old Town, in Scotland. It is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. The parish includes the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Scottish Parliament. It i ...

yard on the

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in Edinburgh. Craig's cousin,

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

' muse,

Agnes Maclehose Agnes Maclehose (26 April 1758 – 23 October 1841Scotland's People, Death record of Agnes Craig or McIhose (OPR Deaths 685/03 0340 0368 CANONGATE)), or Agnes Craig, known to her friends as Nancy

, commonly known as "Clarinda" is buried next to him.

Works

Craig was one of a group of advocates in literary society called the "Tabernacle", who met in a tavern to read essays. On the suggestion of Craig they started a periodical, ''The Mirror'', and they changed into the "Mirror Club".

William Creech William Creech FRSE (12 May 1745 – 14 January 1815) was a Scottish publisher, printer, bookseller and politician. For 40 years Creech was the chief publisher in Edinburgh. He published the first Edinburgh edition of Robert Burns' poems, and ...

published ''The Mirror'', on Tuesdays and Saturdays, the first number appearing on Saturday 23 January 1779, and the 110th and last on 27 May 1780. After

Henry Mackenzie Henry Mackenzie FRSE (August 1745 – 14 January 1831, born and died in Edinburgh) was a Scottish lawyer, novelist and writer sometimes seen as the Addison of the North. While remembered mostly as an author, his main income came from legal ro ...

the contributions of Craig were the most numerous, including a paper on the poems of Michael Bruce, in No. 36. Craig was also a contributor to the ''Lounger'' (1785–7), published by the same club.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, William 1745 births 1813 deaths Scottish lawyers Craig Scottish essayists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh People associated with Edinburgh