Alexander Chalmers (; 29 March 1759 – 29 December 1834) 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 ...

writer. He was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. Trained as a doctor, he gave up medicine for

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

, and was for some time editor of the ''Morning Herald''. Besides editions of the works of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, James Beattie,

Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English writer and magistrate known for the use of humour and satire in his works. His 1749 comic novel ''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'' was a seminal work in the genre. Along wi ...

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

, Joseph Warton,

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...

Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English essayist, historian, and politician. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1789, is known for ...

, and Henry St John, Viscount Bolingbroke, he published '' A General Biographical Dictionary'' in 32 volumes (1812–1817); a ''Glossary to Shakspeare'' (1807); an edition of

George Steevens George Steevens (10 May 1736 – 22 January 1800) was an English writer and Shakespearean scholar. He was best known for collaborating with Samuel Johnson and Isaac Reed to produce '' The Plays of Shakespeare with the Corrections and Illustrati ...

's ''Shakespeare'' (1809); and the ''British Essayists'', beginning with the ''Tatler'' and ending with the ''Observer'', with biographical and historical prefaces and a general index. A quotation is often attributed to him: "The three grand essentials of happiness are: Something to do, someone to love, and something to hope for." His papers are held at the

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS; ; ) is one of Scotland's National Collections. It is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. As well as a public programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and tours, the National Library of ...

References

Sources

* * 1759 births 1834 deaths Scottish book editors Scottish journalists Writers from Aberdeen {{Scotland-writer-stub