John Aitken (25 March 1793 – 15 February 1833) was a Scottish journalist, editor and bookseller. He was editor of ''

Constable's Miscellany ''Constable's Miscellany'' was a part publishing serial established by Archibald Constable. Three numbers made up a volume; many of the works were divided into several volumes. The price of a number was one shilling. The full series title was '' ...

''.

Biography

Aitken was born at the village of

Camelon Camelon (; , ) is a large settlement within the Falkirk council area, Scotland. The village is in the Forth Valley, west of Falkirk, south of Larbert and east of Bonnybridge. The main road through Camelon is the A803 road which links th ...

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling ( ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.Registers of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. It borders Perthshir ...

on 25 March 1793. After a good elementary school education, he became clerk in the

East Lothian Bank East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact ...

, whence he was transferred to the bank of Mr. Park (brother of Mungo Park, the traveller) at Selkirk. Subsequently, he became teller in the East Lothian Bank, but on its failure he, in 1822, removed 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 commenced business as a bookseller, and published the 'Cabinet,’ a selection of miscellaneous pieces in prose and verse, which extended to three volumes, and met with considerable success. Shortly after this he was appointed editor of ''Constable's Miscellany.'' On the death of Constable he, in conjunction with Messrs. Hurst, Chance, & Co., of London, and

Henry Constable Henry Constable (1562 – 9 October 1613) was an English poet, known particularly for ''Diana'', one of the first English sonnet sequences. In 1591 he converted to Catholicism, and lived in exile on the continent for some years. He returned to E ...

, purchased the work, but his connection with it ceased after the failure of the London firm in 1831. He had established a printing-office, with the view of starting a publication similar to the 'Miscellany,’ when he died somewhat suddenly, 15 February 1833. Aitken took an active part in founding the ''

Edinburgh Literary Journal 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 ...

''. He was an occasional contributor to periodicals, and wrote verse with elegance and taste.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aitken, John Scottish male journalists Scottish editors 19th-century Scottish writers 19th-century Scottish male writers People from Falkirk Scottish booksellers 1793 births 1833 deaths 19th-century British businesspeople