John Calder D.D. (1733–1815) was a Scottish dissenting minister and author.

Life

He was a native of

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 ...

, and educated at the university there. The

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of N ...

employed him as private secretary, both at

Alnwick Castle Alnwick Castle () is a castle and country house in Alnwick in the English county of Northumberland. It is the seat of the Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland, 12th Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman Conquest and renovated an ...

and in London. Subsequently he for some time had charge of

Dr. Williams's Library Dr Williams's Library was a small English research library located in Gordon Square, Bloomsbury, London, the contents have now been relocated to Manchester. Historically, it has had a strong Unitarian focus. The library has also been known as ...

, and he also acted as minister at a meeting-house near the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

. He then became a professional writer. Around 1789 Calder moved from

Furnival's Inn Furnival's Inn was an Inn of Chancery which formerly stood on the site of the present Holborn Bars building (the former Prudential Assurance Company building) in Holborn, London, England. History Furnival's Inn was founded about 1383 when W ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, where he knew the scholar East Apthorp well enough to send John Nichols details which were inserted in ''Literary Anecdotes''. He was a collector with an extensive library, and a large cabinet of Greek and Roman coins. His last years were spent at

Lisson Grove Lisson Grove is a street and district in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, West End. The street neighbourhood contains a few important cultural landmarks, including Lisson Gallery, Alfies Antique Market, Red Bus Recording Studio ...

, London, where he died 10 June 1815.

Works

When a new edition of the '' Cyclopædia'' of

Ephraim Chambers Ephraim Chambers ( – 15 May 1740) was an English writer and encyclopaedist, who is primarily known for producing the '' Cyclopaedia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences''. Chambers' ''Cyclopædia'' is known as the original source ...

was proposed, Calder was engaged as provisional editor, drew up a plan, and wrote some articles.

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 ...

who was involved in the project disliked the prolix style. In the discussion which ensued with the publisher William Strahan, Calder offended Johnson and was deprived of the editorship, which went to

Abraham Rees Abraham Rees (1743 – 9 June 1825) was a Welsh nonconformist minister, and compiler of '' Rees's Cyclopædia'' (in 45 volumes). Life He was the second son of Esther, daughter of Abraham Penry, and her husband Lewis Rees, and was born i ...

.''Sir Robert Chambers in the Age of Johnson''
/ref> In 1776 Calder drew up a plan of a periodical work called the ''Selector.'' He also projected a ''Foreign Intelligencer''. While at Alnwick he made the acquaintance of Thomas Percy whom he assisted in preparing a new edition of the ''Tatler'', ''Spectator'', and ''Guardian'', with notes and illustrations. When Calder moved to London, the materials collected by Percy were passed on to him, and later used in editions of these works published by John Nichols, especially the ''Tatler'' published in 6 volumes in 1786, in which "Annotator" means Calder. In 1789 Nichols translated from the French

Pierre François le Courayer Pierre François le Courayer (17 November 1681 – 17 October 1776) was a French Catholic theological writer, for many years an expatriate in England. Life Pierre François le Courayer was born at Rouen. While canon regular and librarian of the ...

's ''Declaration of his last Sentiments on the different Doctrines of Religion'', to which he prefixed a memoir of Courayer. To the new edition of the ''

Biographia Britannica ''Biographia Britannica'' was a multi-volume biographical compendium, "the most ambitious attempt in the latter half of the eighteenth century to document the lives of notable British men and women". The first edition, edited by William Oldys ...

'' he contributed a long article on the Courten family.

References

Attribution

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calder, John 1733 births 1815 deaths Scottish writers 18th-century Scottish clergy