Category: People
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An Enlarged Prostate Causes Agony in 1768: Lord Auchinleck, James Boswell’s Father
On 2 January 1768, Lord Auchinleck, the Scottish judge and father of James Boswell, was struck down at Arniston House with a painful suppression of urine, probably from an enlarged prostate. Boswell’s journal and his father’s letters tell the story, along with a modern note on prostate health.
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Delivered Home: Finding Scottish Man-Midwife William Smellie’s Grave in Lanark
William Smellie, the Lanark doctor who became the father of modern midwifery, lies in a tomb behind the ruins of St Kentigern’s Church. In 1931 Scottish obstetricians paid for it to honour him. When I visited in November 2025, I found broken slates, graffiti, a missing window grille and a…
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David Hume, the Great Infidel, and Charon’s Loitering Rogue – 250 Years Since His Death
David Hume died 250 years ago this year, disbelieving to the end. Revisiting his last months: imagined bargains with the mythological ferryman Charon and James Boswell’s persistent deathbed visit – reveals a philosopher facing his own end with wit, calm and dignity.
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Stanley Curnow: The Mystery Contributor to the Boswell Factory – A Self-Taught Scholar from Johannesburg
A Johannesburg tax accountant with no academic credentials wrote to Yale in 1957 and ended up editing James Boswell’s private papers. Frederick Pottle called him one of the Boswell Office’s most resourceful scholars. He died alone in 1965. Few details of him survive, except in the acknowledgements of a handful…
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Did Robert Burns Stop in Carnwath on His First Journey to Edinburgh?
This post is more of an anecdote – albeit Eighteenth century-related. And it’s dedicated to the readers from China who have been visiting the Genius Fan website a lot over the past fortnight. (My website analytics show only the country of visitors, not the city). My story features Scotland’s national…
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What Does Scottish Biographer James Boswell Have to Do with the American National Anthem?
This is a story about an Eighteenth century English drinking song and how it brought together a stern Scottish judge and an ancient Greek poet. By the end of this post, you’ll understand why they belong together, but let’s start with a tune you already know. The American national anthem…
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Discover the Site in London Where Jacobite Lord Lovat was Beheaded
On 9 April 1747 on Tower Hill, London, crowds gather for the public beheading of notorious Jacobite Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, aka The Fox. He’s 80-years-old and bears his fate with courage. I’m 60 years of age and hiding from the rain at the spot of his execution. Read on.
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Former Slave Trader John Newton Wrote the World’s Most Famous Hymn, ‘Amazing Grace’
John Newton was among the worst of men in the worst of professions. He was an Eighteenth century slave trader, slave ship captain and investor in the business. He became an Anglican minister, abolitionist and was author of Amazing Grace – one of the most famous hymns ever written. Read…
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Music Historian Charles Burney Became Friends with London’s Artistic, Literary and Political Elites
Charles Burney gained fame in the Eighteenth century as a music historian. His name pops up in journals and diaries of the time as a gentleman of good company, intelligent and very likeable. He even made membership of Samuel Johnson’s literary club! Oh and he was father to Fanny Burney.
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Loyalists: Five Important Americans Who Supported Colonial British Rule in 1776
The 4th of July 2026 is fast approaching. It’s a big anniversary – two and a half centuries since the American colonists declared independence from their mother country, Great Britain. It was a gigantic event for world history back then and we’re still feeling the effects today. Becoming independent is…
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Editor Diana Athill Worked With Mailer, Kerouac and Roth, but Her Favourite Was Boswell
Diana Athill ‘s name is famous in the world of publishing. So when she says one of her two favourite writers is James Boswell (the other is Byron), it means something. She loves Boswell not for his Life of Samuel Johnson, but for his journals. Check out the story. Click.
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Will They, Won’t They: Belle De Zuylen and Boswell Flirted, But Fizzled Out
Belle De Zuylen’s relationship with Scottish lawyer James Boswell could have made a nice little Netflix dramedy. From 1763-1764 they flirted and discussed and met and wrote letters. Nothing. Four more years of correspondence. Nothing. Then they married other people. De Zuylen was a fascinating person. Learn about her. Click.
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PM Henry Pelham Defeated the Jacobites and Pacified the Scottish Highlands
This is Henry Pelham, British Prime Minister from 1743-1754, and the man who directed the response to the Jacobite rebels and their 1745 uprising. He sent Cumberland to Scotland where he defeated the rebels at Culloden and went on to ‘pacify’ the Scottish Highlands using Acts of Parliament. Click. Read
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Talented Singer and Mistress Martha Ray was Shot and Murdered
Martha Ray was a talented singer in mid-Eighteenth century London, but better known as the mistress of the 4th Earl of Sandwich. She had a number of admirer, but one in particular became besotted and ended up shooting and killing her. The murder overshadow’s Ray’s biography. Click and read.
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PM and Former Kit-Cat Clubber Wilmington Died in Office from Overwork
Wilmington is Eighteenth century Britain’s second Prime Minister – a Whig in a giant wig. His term was overshadowed by two 600lbs gorillas: Sir Robert Walpole and John Carteret. He ‘knocked his pan in’, exhausted himself and died just a year and a half into office. Interesting fella. Click. Read.