Henry Glassford Bell
Henry Glassford Bell - A Famous Scottish Author & Lawyer
Henry Glassford Bell (1803—1874), pictured left (click to enlarge) was born in Glasgow on the 8th of November 1803 he was the son of a lawyer. Henry Glassford Bell was educated at Glasgow High School and, later, the University of Edinburgh. With a keen interest in politics ( a staunch Tory) and the arts he became friend with Delta Moir, James Hogg, John Wilson (Christopher North). and in 1828 he became editor of the Edinburgh Literary Journal (which was eventually incorporated in the Edinburgh Weekly Chronicle). In 1830 he wrote a volume of poems entitled Summer and winter Hours which included the poem The Life of Mary Stuart.
Eventually entering the legal profession admitted to the bar in 1832, becoming a Sheriff-Substitute at Glasgow in 1839, he suceeded Sir Archibald Alison as Sheriff-Principal of Lanarkshire in 1867. However, Bell continued to be involved in publishing and the arts and became a founder of the Royal Scottish Academy, wrote an introduction to an 1865 edition of Shakespeare and publishing a volume of poetry (1866).
Henry Glassford Bell died in 1874 and became the first person in the 19th century to be buried in the nave of Glasgow Cathedral.
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