Alexander Burt Taylor
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Alexander Burt Taylor, (6 June 1904 – 13 March 1972) was a Scottish civil servant and author who served as the Registrar General for Scotland.


Life

Alexander Burt Taylor was born 6 June 1904 at
Earlston Earlston () is a civil parish and market town in the county of Berwickshire, within the Scottish Borders. It is on the River Leader in Lauderdale, Scotland. Early history Earlston was historically called ''Arcioldun'' or ''Prospect Fort'', ...
, Berwickshire, Scotland, the son of Rev A. B. Taylor of the
United Free Church of Scotland The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; , ) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and the Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), majority of the 19th-cen ...
. Following schooling at the
Hamilton Academy Hamilton Academy was a Boarding school, boarding and day school in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was founded in 1588 as a boy's school and was open for nearly four centuries. In the late 19th century, ...
his father moved to the Paterson United Free Church in
Kirkwall Kirkwall (, , or ; ) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. First mentioned in the ''Orkneyinga saga'', it is today the location of the headquarters of the Orkney Islands Council and a transport hub wi ...
on
Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...
in 1919, so he completed his schooling at Kirkwall Grammar School. Taylor matriculated 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 ...
and graduated MA in 1925. He taught at schools in
Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...
and
Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
in Scotland, then at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
, New York.Archives Hub, University of Manchester. Papers of Dr. Alexander Burt Taylor
. Retrieved 2011-04-16
In 1933, he became a School Inspector for the
Scottish Education Department The Scottish Government Education Directorates were a group of the civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional t ...
, a branch of the Scottish Civil Service. At the beginning of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
he was seconded to the Scottish Department of Health and in 1947 was promoted to Assistant Secretary. In 1959 Taylor was appointed
Registrar-General General Register Office or General Registry Office (GRO) is the name given to the civil registry in the United Kingdom, many other Commonwealth nations and Ireland. The GRO is the government agency responsible for the recording of vital reco ...
of Births, Deaths and Marriages for Scotland, a post he held until his retirement in 1966. During his term of office he was responsible for the administration of two censuses, the Scottish full census of 1961 and the ten per cent sample in 1966. In 1961 Taylor was invested
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
and elected a Fellow 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 ...
on 6 March of that year. His proposers were James Norman Davidson, John Ronald Peddie, Sir
Michael Swann Michael Meredith Swann, Baron Swann, (1 March 1920 – 22 September 1990) was a British molecular and cell biologist. He was appointed chairman of the BBC, awarded a knighthood and subsequently a life peerage. Early life Swann was born in Cam ...
, Norman Feather, George Montgomery, and John McQueen Johnston. He was succeeded in his role as Registrar General in 1955 by James Allan Ford. He died at 35
Balgreen Balgreen ( or ) is a suburb of Edinburgh, located approximately two miles west of the city centre, most commonly known for its primary school, Balgreen Primary. It is located to the west of Murrayfield and Saughtonhall, to the east of Corsto ...
Road, a modest semi-detached house in western Edinburgh on 13 March 1972.


Publications

Taylor was also a Scandinavian
philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...
and author of a translation of ''The Orkneying Saga: A new translation with introduction and notes (1938)'', and ''British and Irish place-names in Old Norse literature (1953)''. He was awarded the degree of
Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...
by 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 ...
. Taylor died on 13 March 1972 at the age of 67.


Family

He married twice: firstly to Jean Allardyce, and, following Jean's death in 1959, he married Elizabeth.


References


External links


General Register Office for Scotland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Alexander Burt 1904 births 1972 deaths People educated at Hamilton Academy People educated at Kirkwall Grammar School Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Old Norse studies scholars People from Berwickshire Scandinavian studies scholars Scottish civil servants Scottish philologists Scottish schoolteachers