Alexander Adam
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Alexander Adam (24 June 174118 December 1809) was a
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
teacher and writer on
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
antiquities.


Life

Alexander Adam was born near
Forres Forres (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the County of Moray, Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin, Moray, Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several ...
, in
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, the son of a farmer. From his earliest years he showed uncommon diligence and perseverance in classical studies, notwithstanding many difficulties and privations. In 1757 he went to
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 ...
, where he studied at 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 ...
. During this period he lodged with a Mr Watson on
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, Edinburgh, Lochend, both of which it ...
. His reputation as a classical scholar secured him a post as assistant at Watson's Hospital and the headmastership in 1761. This cites ''An Account of the Life and Character of A. A.'', by A. Henderson (1810). In 1764 he became private tutor to
Alexander Kincaid Alexander Kincaid (1710–1777) was an 18th-century Scottish printer and publisher who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh 1776/77. Life He was born on 17 March 1710 in Falkirk the son of James Kincaid of Bantaskine House and his wife Isabell Rus ...
, afterwards Lord Provost of Edinburgh, by whose influence he was appointed in 1768 to the rectorship of the
High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
on the retirement of Mr Matheson, whose substitute he had been for some time before. From this period he devoted himself entirely to the duties of his office and to the preparation of his numerous works on classical literature. His popularity and his success as a teacher are strikingly illustrated by the great increase in the number of his pupils, many of whom subsequently became distinguished men, among them being
Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...
,
Lord Brougham Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, (; 19 September 1778 – 7 May 1868) was a British statesman who became Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain and played a prominent role in passing the Reform Act 1832 and Slavery ...
and
Francis Jeffrey Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey (23 October 1773 – 26 January 1850) was a Scottish judge and literary critic. Life He was born at 7 Charles Street near Potterow in south Edinburgh, the son of George Jeffrey, a clerk in the Court of Sessio ...
. He succeeded in introducing the study of
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
into the curriculum of the school, notwithstanding the opposition of the university headed by Principal William Robertson. In 1780 the University of Edinburgh conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. He lived his final years at 39
George Square George Square () is the principal Town square, civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of six squares in the city centre, the others being Cathedral Square, Glasgow, Cathedral Square, St Andrew's Square, Glasgow, St Andrew's ...
. He died after an illness of five days, during which he occasionally imagined himself still at work, his last words being, "It grows dark, boys, you may go". He is buried near his home, in the small graveyard of St. Cuthbert's Chapel of Ease on Chapel Street (usually known as Buccleuch Parish Church). The grave lies on the north wall.


Selected publications

*''Principles of Latin and English Grammar'' (1772) (co-written with
Andrew Dalzell Andrew Dalzell (sometimes shown as Andrew Dalzel or Andrew Dalziel) FRSE (1742–1806) was a Scottish scholar, Professor of Classics (Edinburgh), Professor of Greek at the University of Edinburgh, and prominent figure during the Scottish Enligh ...
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Andrew Dalzell), which, being written in English instead of Latin, brought down a storm of abuse upon him. *''Roman Antiquities'' (1791) — his best work, which passed through a large number of editions and received the unusual compliment of a German translation. *''Summary of Geography and History'' (1794) *''Compendious Dictionary of the Latin Tongue'' (1805) The manuscript of a projected larger Latin dictionary, which he did not live to complete, lies in the library of the High School.


Family

Adam married first, in 1775, Agnes Munro, whose father was minister of Kinloss; and second, in 1780, Jean Cosser, a daughter of the controller of excise in Edinburgh. Adam's daughter Agnes married the chemist
William Prout William Prout Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (; 15 January 1785 – 9 April 1850) was an English chemist, physician, and natural theologian. He is remembered today mainly for what is called Prout's hypothesis. Biography Prout was born in H ...
.


References

*


Further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adam, Alexander 1741 births 1809 deaths Scottish classical scholars People from Forres Scottish antiquarians Scottish schoolteachers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Linguists of English Grammarians of Latin Scottish lexicographers 18th-century Scottish writers 18th-century Scottish male writers 18th-century Scottish educators 19th-century Scottish writers 19th-century Scottish male writers 18th-century lexicographers