Sir Hugh Lyon Playfair (20 February 1787 – 19 January 1861) was a Scottish politician, army officer and photographic pioneer. He was

Provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

from 1842 until his death in 1861.

Biography

He was born in

Meigle Meigle (, ) is a village in Strathmore, Angus, Strathmore, Scotland. It lies in the council area of Perth and Kinross in the Coupar Angus and Meigle ward. It lies on the A94 road, A94 road between Perth and Forfar.The A94 used to be the main ro ...

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

the third son of Margaret Lyon and the Reverend James Playfair. He was educated at

Dundee Grammar School The High School of Dundee is a private, co-educational, day school in Dundee, Scotland, which provides nursery, primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils. Its foundation has been dated to 1239, and it is the only private sc ...

.Dictionary of National Biography: Hugh Lyon Playfair His later education was at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

. In 1804 he was commissioned in into the

Bengal Horse Artillery The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Gover ...

. After his commission he was sent to 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 ...

for three months for instruction in range-finding and ballistics. He served in India from 1805 to 1817 and from 1820 to 1834. He was initially based in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

but in November 1806 had to undertake an 800-mile march with his brigade to

Cawnpore Kanpur ( Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary financial and commercial centre of northern India. Founded ...

. In March 1807 General Sir John Horsford placed him in charge of the troops at

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The city ...

and was required to suppress the robber-chief Tumon Singh in

Oudh The Kingdom of Awadh (, , also Oudh State, Kingdom of Oudh, Awadh Subah, or Awadh State) was a Mughal subah, then an independent kingdom, and lastly a British protectorate in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the Br ...

. In November 1807 he was appointed in charge of the horse artillery in

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

and in 1809 undertook another long march to Saharunpoor. In 1811 he was moved to

Meerut Meerut (, ISO 15919, ISO: ''Mēraṭh'') is a city in the western region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located in the Meerut district, it is northeast of the national capital, New Delhi, and is ...

and required to oversee the siege of the fortress at Nalapani. He was twice wounded during the siege but successfully captured the fortress. Owing to ill-health he was sent back to Britain to recover. His ship moored at

St. Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

en route and there he met and interviewed

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. His second period of duty in India was much less eventful. In 1834 he retired from the army to

where he served as Provost from 1842 till his death in 1861. Whilst Provost he is credited with building St Andrews Public Library, agreeing that the railway network (

St Andrews Railway The St Andrews Railway was an independent railway company, founded in 1851 to build a railway branch line from the university town of St Andrews, in Fife, Scotland, to the nearby main line railway. It opened in 1852. When the Tay Rail Bridge ope ...

) be extended to serve the town, and achieving various grants for improvements to

St Andrews University The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

. He also revived

St Andrews Golf Club St Andrews Golf Club, originally known as St Andrews Mechanics Golf Club, is a private members' golf club located in St Andrews, Scotland. The club is one of the oldest golf clubs in the world, having been established in 1843. The club does no ...

which had fallen into disrepair in the 1850s due to under-use. In his time, St Andrews "was transformed into a thriving modern burgh". In 1856 he became a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

, and in the same year was awarded received an honorary doctorate of Doctor of Laws (LL.D) by the University of St Andrews. Playfair took an interest in photography during its pioneer years and worked with

Sir David Brewster Sir David Brewster KH PRSE FRS FSA Scot FSSA MICE (11 December 178110 February 1868) was a British scientist, inventor, author, and academic administrator. In science he is principally remembered for his experimental work in physical optic ...

to develop the

calotype Calotype or talbotype is an early photographic process introduced in 1841 by William Henry Fox Talbot, using paper coated with silver iodide. Paper texture effects in calotype photography limit the ability of this early process to record low ...

process. Though not a member, Playfair was one of the founders of the

Edinburgh Calotype Club The Edinburgh Calotype Club (1843 – c.1850s) of Scotland was the first photographic club in the world. Its members consisted of pioneering photographers primarily from Edinburgh and St Andrews. The efforts of the Club's members resulted in ...

one of the world's first photographic societies (1843). He died at home in St Andrews on the 19 January 1861, and is buried on the north wall of

St Andrews Cathedral The Cathedral of St Andrew (often referred to as St Andrews Cathedral) is a ruined cathedral in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It was built in 1158 and became the centre of the Medieval Catholic Church in Scotland as the seat of the Archdiocese o ...

churchyard, beneath a distinctive and large white monument, with a military motif.

Family

He married Jane Dalgelish (1798-1872), daughter of William Dalgleish of Scotscraig,

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

, on 10 July 1809. Together they had five daughters and six Sons. He was uncle to Dr William Smoult Playfair, Sir Lambert Playfair and

Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair (1 May 1818 – 29 May 1898) was a British scientist and Liberal politician who was Postmaster-General from 1873 to 1874. Early life Playfair was born at Chunar, Bengal, the son of George Playfair (1781–1 ...

who was named in his honour. His grandson, Elliot Minto Playfair (1826-1899), was a Lieutenant General in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

References

*L. G. Pine, The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms (London, U.K.: Heraldry Today, 1972) {{DEFAULTSORT:Playfair, Hugh Lyon 1787 births 1861 deaths People educated at the High School of Dundee Alumni of the University of St Andrews People from Perthshire People associated with Fife Knights Bachelor Scottish knights Bengal Artillery officers British military personnel of the Anglo-Nepalese War Scottish photographers