DAVID LAING was born in
Edinburgh on 8th May, 1793, and died there on i8th October, 1878, in his
eighty-sixth year. He was one of the most eminent Scotsmen of his time, and
probably did more than any other single man to elucidate the history and
literature of Scotland and to settle them on sure foundations. 'He was,'
says Professor Masson, writing in 1874, 'easily the prince of living
authorities in all matters of Scottish history and biography.' 'The early
literary history of his native country,' says Dr. John Alexander Smith,
'together with its ecclesiastical history since the period of the
Reformation and the history of Scottish art were his special spheres of
research, and in these departments he may be said to have stood almost
alone.'
We have a very good article about him
from the Scottish Historical Review which can be read here.
We also have the book about
him here in pdf format |