William Guthrie (1708–1770) was a Scottish writer and journalist, now remembered as a historian.

Life

The son of an

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

clergyman, he was born at

Brechin Brechin (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin was described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Scottish Reformation, Reformation Roman Catholic diocese (which contin ...

Forfarshire Angus (; ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agriculture and fishing. Global pharmaceuticals ...

, in 1708. He was educated at

Aberdeen University The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland, petitioned Pope Al ...

with a view to becoming a parochial schoolmaster, but he settled in London in 1730, and tried literature. He was first engaged on parliamentary debates for the ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1907, ceasing publication altogether in 1922. It was the first to use the term '' ...

'', his reports being revised by

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 ...

. He gradually made a reputation as a political writer, and in 1745 received a pension of £200 a year from the

Pelham administration The Broad Bottom ministry was the factional coalition government of Great Britain between 1744 and 1754. It was led by the two Pelham brothers in Parliament, Prime Minister Henry Pelham in the House of Commons and Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Du ...

. He asked for and was granted a renewal of his pension by the

Bute government John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, served as Prime Minister of Great Britain during 1762–1763. He was the first Tory prime minister since the Harley ministry during 1710–1714 though his ministry was largely made up of Whigs. Bute resigned ...

in 1762. Guthrie was referred to by Johnson in terms of some respect. He died on 9 March 1770, and was buried in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

Works

Guthrie's first scholarly work was a ''History of England from the Invasion of Julius Cæsar to 1688,'' 4 vols., Lond. 1744–51; an attempt to base history on parliamentary records. In 1763 he published a book titled ''Complete List of the English Peerage''. In spite of revision by aristocrats, this work is inaccurate. About 1764–7 he published, along with collaborators, ''A General History of the World, from the Creation to the Present Time'', in twelve volumes; this was favourably noticed in ''

The Critical Review Critical Review may refer to: * ''The Critical Review'' (newspaper), English newspaper published from 1756 to 1817 * ''The Critical Review'' (Chinese journal), a Chinese academic journal published from 1922 to 1933 * ''Critical Review'' (Brown Univ ...

'', it was said by the author himself. In 1767 appeared ''A General History of Scotland'' in 10 volumes. It is inaccurate, particularly in the early periods. Probably his most noted book was his ''Geographical, Historical, and Commercial Grammar'' (1770), which reached numerous editions, and was translated into French in 1801. Besides translations from

Quintilian Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician born in Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quin ...

(1756) and

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

(1744–54–55–58), he also wrote ''The Friends'', a sentimental novel, in two volumes (1754), and ''Remarks on English Tragedy'' (1757).

References

Attribution

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guthrie, William 1708 births 1770 deaths Scottish journalists 18th-century Scottish historians People from Brechin Alumni of the University of Aberdeen