Sir Thomas Carlaw Martin

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

LLD (10 April 1850 – 26 October 1920) was a Scottish newspaper editor and Director of the

Royal Scottish Museum The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, is a museum of Scottish history and culture. It was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, ...

Life

He was born at Woodcocklaw Farm in

Linlithgow Linlithgow ( ; ; ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edi ...

on 10 April 1850. He studied at Heriot-Watt College and then 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 ...

. After an initial start as a Post Office engineer, he became a journalist and then a newspaper editor, overseeing two Liberal publications: the "Scottish Leader" and "Dundee Advertiser". 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 ...

awarded him an honorary doctorate (LLD) in 1903. Living in Dundee from 1895 to 1910 he lived at 23 Springfield. He was knighted by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

in 1902 for his contribution to transport proposals. In 1911 he was appointed Director of the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh, succeeding David Vallance. In 1912 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. His proposers were Sir William Turner,

Cargill Gilston Knott Cargill Gilston Knott FRS, FRSE LLD (30 June 1856 – 26 October 1922) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was a pioneer in seismological research. He spent his early career in Japan. He later became a Fellow of the Royal Society, ...

John Horne John Horne PRSE FRS FRSE FEGS LLD (1 January 1848 – 30 May 1928) was a Scottish geologist. He served as president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh from 1915 to 1919. Life Horne was born on 1 January 1848, in Campsie, Stirlingshire, the ...

, and James Burgess. In later life, he lived at 4 Gordon Terrace in southern Edinburgh.Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1911–12 When he retired in 1916 from the museum, he was succeeded by

Alexander Ormiston Curle Alexander Ormiston Curle (1866–1955) was a Scottish lawyer and archaeologist who rose to be Director of the National Museum of Scotland from 1913 to 1919 and Director of the Royal Scottish Museum on Chambers Street in Edinburgh 1916 to 1931. H ...

. He died in Edinburgh on 26 October 1920. He is buried with his wife in the

Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hi ...

in southern Edinburgh. The grave lies on the southern path, just east of the central path.

Family

In 1879, he married Isobel Laurie Spence.

Publications

*''Custody and Guardianship of Children'' (1885) *''An Introduction to the Study of Crystals'' (1912)

Artistic Recognition

He was painted by

William Quiller Orchardson Sir William Quiller Orchardson (27 March 1832 – 13 April 1910) was a Scotland, Scottish portraitist and painter of domestic and historical subjects who was knighted in June 1907, at the age of 75. Early years Orchardson was born in Edinbur ...

around 1905.

References

1850 births 1920 deaths People from Linlithgow People from West Lothian British newspaper editors Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh {{Scotland-bio-stub