John Galt (; 2 May 1779 – 11 April 1839) was a Scottish

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

, entrepreneur, and political and social commentator. Galt has been called the first political novelist in the English language, due to being the first

to deal with issues of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

. Galt was the first superintendent of the

Canada Company The Canada Company was a private British land development company that was established to aid in the colonization of a large part of Upper Canada. It was incorporated by royal charter on August 19, 1826, under the ( 6 Geo. 4. c. 75) of the B ...

(1826–1829). The company was formed to populate a part of what is now Southern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

(then known as

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

) in the first half of the 19th century; it was later called "the most important single attempt at settlement in Canadian history". In 1829, Galt was recalled to Great Britain for mismanagement of the Canada Company (particularly incompetent bookkeeping), and was later jailed for failing to pay his son's tuition. Galt's ''Autobiography'', published in London in 1833, includes a discussion of his life and work in Upper Canada. He was the father of Sir

Alexander Tilloch Galt Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt, (September 6, 1817 – September 19, 1893) was a politician and Fathers of Confederation, Father of Confederation, the Canadian Confederation, union of British North American colonies into Canada. Early life He w ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Quebec, one of the leading

Fathers of Confederation The Fathers of Confederation are the 36 people who attended at least one of the Charlottetown Conference, Charlottetown Conference of 1864 (23 attendees), the Quebec Conference, 1864, Quebec Conference of 1864 (33 attendees), and the London Conf ...

from Lower Canada.

Life

Born on 2 May 1779 in the seaport of Irvine in Ayrshire, Galt was the son of a shipmaster and

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

r. Every year, Galt's whole family moved seasonally to

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

. He grew up tall but rather delicate, and spent a lot of time listening to the "marvellous narrations" of some elderly women who lived in the close behind his grandmother's house. After tutoring at home, he joined Irvine Grammar public school in 1787, becoming a lifetime friend of his schoolfellow Henry Eckford. Around 1789, Galt's father owned and commanded a

West Indiaman West Indiaman was a general name for any merchantman sailing ship making runs from the Old World to the West Indies and the east coast of the Americas. These ships were generally strong ocean-going ships capable of handling storms in the Atlantic ...

trading with

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, and had a house built in Greenock. The family settled there, and at school Galt became close friends with classmates William Spence, a budding mathematician, and James Park, who spurred Galt's enthusiasm for writing and poetry. Their education, well suited to

commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...

, covered penmanship, arithmetic, French, geography, astronomy and mathematics, including

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

using a

sextant A sextant is a doubly reflecting navigation instrument that measures the angular distance between two visible objects. The primary use of a sextant is to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon for the purposes of cel ...

on local hills in 1794.

Career, early publications

It was usual in Greenock for lads starting careers in commerce to first improve their penmanship by copying entries in the books of the

custom house A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...

, so Galt and Park were "desked" there for a few months. At the age of 17, Galt became a junior clerk at a Greenock firm of

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

s. He was a "voracious reader" using the town's

subscription library A subscription library (also membership library or independent library) is a library that is financed by private funds either from membership fees or endowments. Unlike a public library, access is often restricted to members, but access rights ca ...

. With his friends, he went long walks, wrote essays and stories, some of which were published in

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

's ''

The Scots Magazine ''The Scots Magazine'' is a magazine containing articles on subjects of Scottish interest. It claims to be the oldest magazine in the world still in publication, although there have been several gaps in its publication history. It has reported on ...

'', and founded a Literary and Debating Society. In early 1804, at the Tontine Hotel, this hosted

James Hogg James Hogg (1770 – 21 November 1835) was a Scottish poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both Scots language, Scots and English. As a young man he worked as a shepherd and farmhand, and was largely self-educated through reading. He was a ...

, who described the discussion as "much above what I had ever been accustomed to hear". Though seemingly doing well, Galt "felt at Greenock as if I was never in my proper element", and was restless about "the narrowness of my prospects". Incensed by an abusive letter, he pursued its author to

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

and got a written apology, then on return told his father and the merchants' firm he intended to quit Greenock. Galt made preparations and, accompanied by his father, took post chaise and mail coach to London in May 1804. Letters of introduction got him, at most, dinner invitations. In 1805 he used an advance of his father's patrimony to fund a partnership with a factor. In 1809 he began studying law at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

. During a subsequent trip to Europe, where he was commissioned by a merchant firm to establish trade agreements, Galt met and befriended

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

. He traveled with Byron and his companion,

John Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton John Cam Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton, (27 June 1786 – 3 June 1869), known as Sir John Hobhouse, Bt, from 1831 to 1851, was an English politician and diarist. Early life Born at Redland near Bristol, Broughton was the eldest son of Si ...

, to

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. He met them again in Greece. Parting company, Galt continued alone to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

Adrianople Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

and then

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

. He returned to Greenock via Ireland. He then embarked to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to pursue business plans, but these did not come to fruition and he took to writing. Galt wrote an account of his travels, which met with moderate success. Decades later, he would also publish the first full

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

of Lord Byron. He also published the first biography of the painter

Benjamin West Benjamin West (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as ''The Death of Nelson (West painting), The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the ''Treaty of Paris ( ...

, ''The Life and Studies of Benjamin West'' (1816, expanded 1820). In 1813, Galt attempted to establish a

ian trading company, in order to circumvent

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 ...

embargo Economic sanctions or embargoes are commercial and financial penalties applied by states or institutions against states, groups, or individuals. Economic sanctions are a form of coercion that attempts to get an actor to change its behavior throu ...

on British trade; however,

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

's victory in Spain made this no longer necessary. Galt then returned to London and married Elizabeth Tilloch, daughter of Alexander Tilloch. They had three boys, John Galt Jr (1814–1866), Thomas Galt (1815–1901), and Alexander Tilloch Galt (1817–1893). In 1815, he became Secretary of the Royal Caledonian Asylum in London. He also privately consulted in several business ventures. Galt started to submit articles to '' Blackwood's Magazine'' in late 1819, and in March 1829 he sent Blackwood the publishers the plan for "The Ayrshire legatees". Concentrating on his writing for the next several years, Galt lived at times in London,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

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 ...

and elsewhere, writing fiction and a number of school texts under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Reverend T. Clark. Around 1821 he moved his family from Greenock to Eskgrove near

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of . History The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...

. In addition to moving his residence frequently during this period, Galt also switched publishers several times, moving from ''Blackwood's Magazine'' to Oliver and Boyd and then back again. In 1821 ''Annals of the parish'' was published as were two instalments of ''The steam boat'' and he started work on the novel ''Sir André Wylie''. ''Annals of the parish'' established Galt's reputation overnight. ''Sir Andrew Wylie'' was published in 1822.

The Canada Company

In 1824, Galt was appointed secretary of the

, a charter company established to aid in the colonization of the Huron Tract in

along the eastern shore of

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...

. After the company was incorporated by

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

on 19 August 1826, Galt traveled across the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

on the

man-of-war In Royal Navy jargon, a man-of-war (also man-o'-war, or simply man) was a powerful warship or frigate of the 16th to the 19th century, that was frequently used in Europe. Although the term never acquired a specific meaning, it was usually rese ...

HMS ''Romney'', arriving at

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and then traveling by road. Sadly, soon after arriving, word was sent that his mother had suffered a stroke. He returned to her (in Musselburgh) in 1826 and she died a few months later. He returned to Canada in 1826. While in Canada, Galt lived in York in Upper Canada (now

), but located the headquarters of the Canada Company at

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

, a town he also founded in 1827. Later that year, he co-founded the town of Goderich with Tiger Dunlop. The community of Galt, Ontario, was named after him. During his tenure with the Canada Company, Galt ran afoul of several colonial authorities, including Sir Peregrine Maitland, who was Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada at the time. He was heavily criticised by his employers for his lack of basic accounting skills and failure to carry out their established policies. This resulted in his dismissal and recall to Great Britain in 1829. By the 1830s, the Canada Company was attracting substantial numbers of Scottish settlers to the area around Guelph.

Return, debts and health problems

Soon after his return to Great Britain, he spent several months in

King's Bench Prison The King's Bench Prison was a prison in Southwark, south London, England, from the Middle Ages until it closed in 1880. It took its name from the King's Bench court of law in which cases of defamation, bankruptcy and other misdemeanours were he ...

for failure to pay debts. One of Galt's last novels, ''The Member'', has political corruption as its central theme. In 1831 he moved to Barn Cottage in Old Brompton. Galt's three sons returned to Canada in 1833. The eldest, John Jr., would be appointed Collector of Customs and Registrar of Deeds at Goderich and become part of the Colborne Clique. His youngest son

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

became one of the

fathers of Confederation The Fathers of Confederation are the 36 people who attended at least one of the Charlottetown Conference, Charlottetown Conference of 1864 (23 attendees), the Quebec Conference, 1864, Quebec Conference of 1864 (33 attendees), and the London Conf ...

and Canada's first minister of finance. Despite failing health (following a trip over a tree root whilst in Canada), Galt was involved in another colonial business venture, the British American Land Company, which was formed to develop lands in the Eastern Townships of

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

(now

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

). Galt served as secretary but was forced to resign in December 1832 because of his health. By this stage his spinal injury was not only crippling him but also affecting his speech and handwriting.

Return to Scotland

In 1834 he moved to

following the publishing of his two-volume ''Autobiography'' in 1833. Galt here met the travel writer Harriet Pigott. Pigott persuaded Galt to edit her ''Records of Real Life in the Palace and the Cottage''. She received some criticism for this as it was suspected that she was just taking advantage of Galt. However, her unfinished biography of him which is in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

implies that it was more of mutual respect than her critics allowed. ''Records of Real Life in the Palace and the Cottage'' had an introduction by Galt, and this three-volume work was published in 1839. 140224 Old Greenock Cemetery - 34

He retired to his old home in Greenock in August 1834 following the departure of three of his sons to Canada. Finding the accommodation unsuitable he lived temporarily in Gourock before moving in December 1834 to a more comfortable house, sited in central Greenock on Westburn Street, at its corner with West Blackhall Street. He stayed there with his wife and sister. Galt died on 11 April 1839, and was buried in the family tomb of his parents in the New Burying Ground in Greenock (now called the Old Greenock Cemetery or Inverkip Street Cemetery).

Commemoration

In Greenock, John Galt is commemorated by the John Galt memorial fountain on the Esplanade, and by a plaque at the old cemetery where he is buried.

Sheltered housing Sheltered housing or sheltered accommodation are terms covering a wide range of rented housing for older and/or disabled or other vulnerable people. In the United Kingdom most commonly it refers to grouped housing such as a block or "scheme" ...

(for seniors) built next to the cemetery in 1988, on the site of the old Greenock Royal Infirmary, is named John Galt House in his honour. He is also commemorated in Makars' Court, outside The Writers' Museum, Lawnmarket, Edinburgh. The paving slab is engraved with the Scots language words "birr and smeddum" (vigour and liveliness) quoting his 1821 book ''

Annals of the Parish ''Annals of the Parish'' (full title: ''Annals of the parish: or, The chronicle of Dalmailing; during the ministry of the Rev. Micah Balwhidder, written by himself'') is an 1821 novel of Scottish country life by John Galt. Micah Balwhidder, con ...

''. The city of Galt, Ontario was named after John Galt, but was absorbed into

Cambridge, Ontario Cambridge is a city in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, located at the confluence of the Grand River (Ontario), Grand and Speed River, Speed rivers, in the central part of the Ontario Peninsula. The city had a population ...

in 1973. His original home in Guelph, known as the "Priory" (built 1827-1828), stood on the banks of the Speed River near the current River Run Centre for performing arts. The building later became the first Canadian Pacific Railway station in the city; the conversion was completed in 1888. The building was no longer required by the Canadian Pacific Railway which built a new station in 1910. A photograph from 1914 depicts it as boarded up. In spite of attempts by various individuals in Guelph to save the structure, it was torn down in 1926. A historical plaque commemorates Galt's role with the Canada Company in populating the Huron Tract, calling it "the most important single attempt at settlement in Canadian history". In 2006, the community of Guelph proclaimed the first Monday in August, "John Galt Day".

Works

Galt's novels are best known for their depiction of Scottish rural life, tinged with ironic humour. Galt wrote the following works: * ''Cursory Reflections on Political and Commercial Topics'' (1812) * ''The Life and Administration of

Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( ; – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling f ...

'' (1812) * ''The Tragedies of Maddelen,

Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans during the Trojan War. He was the son (or grandson) of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of C ...

, Lady Macbeth, Antonia and

Clytemnestra Clytemnestra (, ; , ), in Greek mythology, was the wife of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and the half-sister of Helen of Sparta. In Aeschylus' ''Oresteia'', she murders Agamemnon – said by Euripides to be her second husband – and the Trojan p ...

'' (1812) * ''Voyages and Travels'' (1812) * ''Letters from the Levant'' (1813) * ''The Mermaid'' (1814) * ''The Life and Studies of

'' (1816) * ''The Majolo (2 volumes)'' (1816) * ''The Appeal'' (1818) * ''The Star of Destiny '' (a three act play, 1818) * ''The History of Gog and Magog: The Champions of London'' (children's book, 1819) * ''The Wandering Jew'' (1820) * ''The Earthquake (3 volumes)'' (1820) * '' Glenfell'' (1820) * ''The Life, Studies and Works of Benjamin West'' (1820) * ''

'' (1821) * ''The

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

Legatees'' (1821)
''Sir Andrew Wylie, of that Ilk (3 volumes)''
(1822)
''The Provost''
(1822) * ''The English Mother's Catechism for her Children'' (1822) * ''The Steam-Boat'' (1822) * ''The Entail (3 volumes)'' (1823) * ''The Gathering of the West'' (1823) * '' Ringan Gilhaize (The

Covenanter Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son C ...

s) (3 volumes)'' (1823) * ''The Spaewife (3 volumes)'' (1823) * ''The Bachelor's Wife'' (1824) * ''Rothelan (3 volumes)'' (1824)
''The Omen''
(1825) * ''The Last of the Lairds'' (1826) * ''Lawrie Todd or The Settlers in the Woods'' (1830) * '' The Life of Lord Byron'' (1830) * '' Southennan (3 volumes)'' (1830)
The Book of Life (1831)
*The Black Ferry (variant of The Book of Life) * ''Bogle Corbet or The Emigrants (3 volumes)'' (1831)
''The Lives of the Players''
(1831)
''The Member: An Autobiography''
(1832) – novel * ''The Radical'' (1832) – novel, sequel to ''The Member'' * '' Stanley Buxton (3 volumes)'' (1832)
''Autobiography (2 volumes)''
(1833) * '' Eben Erskine or The Traveller (3 volumes)'' (1833) * ''The Ouranoulagos or The Celestial Volume'' (1833) * ''Poems'' (1833) * ''The Stolen Child'' (1833)
''Stories of the Study (3 volumes)''
(1833) * ''Literary Life and Miscellanies (3 volumes)'' (1834) * ''A Contribution to the Greenock Calamity Fund'' (1834) * ''Efforts by an Invalid'' (1835) * ''The Demon of Destiny and Other Poems'' (1839)

References

Bibliography

* * * : contains a 113-page 'Biographical Memoir' of John Galt's life, by Δ ( David Macbeth Moir). *

External links