| Administrative History | James Beattie was born in Laurencekirk in 1735. He attended Marischal College in Aberdeen and graduated MA in 1753. He was immediately appointed parish clerk and schoolmaster to Fordoun parish, near Laurencekirk. 5 years later, he was appointed as master at the Grammar School of Aberdeen and in 1760, much to his surprise, he was appointed Professor of Moral Philosophy and Logic at Marischal College, a post he held for 30 years until he was forced to retire in 1790 due to ill health. He published many works, mainly poetical and philosophical including Original Poems and Translations (1761), The Minstrel (1771 - 1774), Dissertations Moral and Critical (1783) and Evidences of the Christian Religion (1786). He died in 1803. |