Sir Archibald Alison, 1st Baronet

Sir Archibald Alison, Bt
Sir Archibald Alison
Born	(1792-12-29)29 December 1792 Parsonage of Kenley, Shropshire
Died	23 May 1867(1867-05-23) (aged 74) Possil House, Glasgow
Resting place	Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh
Occupation	Advocate Historian
Nationality	Scottish
Citizenship	United Kingdom
Alma mater	Edinburgh University
Genre	Law History
Notable works	Principles of the Criminal Law of Scotland (1832) The Practice of the Criminal Law (1833) History of Europe, 19 volumes (1833–1843)
Spouse	Elizabeth Glencairn Tytler (m. 1825) (d. 1874)
Relatives	Father: Rev Archibald Alison Brother: Professor William Alison Uncle: Professor James Gregory Cousin: Professor William Gregory

The grave of Sir Archibald Alison, 1st Baronet, Dean Cemetery

Sir Archibald Alison, 1st Baronet, GCB, FRSE (29 December 1792 – 23 May 1867) was a Scottish advocate and historian. He held several prominent legal appointments. He was the younger son of the Episcopalian cleric and author Archibald Alison. His elder brother was the physician and social reformer William Alison.

Background

He was born at the parsonage at Kenley, Shropshire, to the Rev. Archibald Alison and his wife Dorothea Gregory, daughter of John Gregory, and granddaughter of James Forbes, 17th Lord Forbes.^[1] In 1800 his parents moved the family back to Edinburgh, as his father thought that he could give his sons a better education and more independent careers in Scotland.^[2]

After studying under a private tutor, and at the University of Edinburgh, he was, in 1814, admitted to the Faculty of Advocates, at which he ultimately attained some distinction, becoming in 1834 Sheriff of Lanarkshire. In 1853, he received a Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law by the University of Oxford.^[1]

The University College London, Legacies of British Slave-ownership, two projects based at UCL tracing the impact of slave-ownership on the formation of modern Britain:^[3] (the ESRC-funded Legacies of British Slave-ownership project, now complete, and the ESRC and AHRC-funded Structure and significance of British Caribbean slave-ownership 1763-1833, running from 2013-2015), highlight that, Sir Archibald Alison 1st Bart., benefited from the compensation paid out following the abolition of slavery in 1833. According to the record, he benefited from a payment of £4,081,18s,10d, an approximate £346,000 in 2015, made by the government of United Kingdom and Great Britain as recorded by the Slave Compensation Commission and the records held at the National Archives in London. The record containing the facts discovered can be found at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/46692,^[4] and the National Archive and the records of the Slave Compensation Commission.^[5]

Author

When travelling in France in 1814 he conceived the idea of his expansive History of Europe from the commencement of the French revolution to the restoration of the Bourbons. This multi-volume set is usually regarded as Alison's chief historical work and is considered to be the first scholarly English-language study of the French Revolution.^[6] Published in ten volumes between 1833 and 1843, History of Europe was revised and reprinted many times throughout the century, including numerous foreign language editions.^[6] The work is one of vast industry, "contain[ing] a wealth of information communicated in a vigorous though wordy style."^[6]

Disraeli satirises the author in Coningsby as Mr. Wordy, who wrote a history to prove that Providence was on the side of the Tories. Such criticism notwithstanding, History of Europe proved to be a huge commercial success.^[6] Alison also composed a comprehensive survey of the military campaigns of the Duke of Marlborough, as well as two standard works on the criminal law of Scotland.

Rector

He was elected Lord Rector successively of Marischal College, Aberdeen, and of the University of Glasgow. In 1852 he was created a baronet, during Lord Derby's administration.

Family and death

In 1825, he married Elizabeth Glencairn, the daughter of Patrick Tytler; the children from the marriage were Archibald, Frederick and Eliza Frances Catherine. Both sons became distinguished British officers. The 1st Baronet's autobiography was published in 1883; his portrait was painted by Robert Scott Lauder.

Alison died at Possil House, Glasgow, at the age of 74, and was interred in Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh.^[7] His grave lies amid the "Lord's Row" against the western wall, and is modest in comparison to most in this section.

He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his elder son, Sir Archibald Alison, 2nd Baronet.

Works

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Archibald Alison

Alison's body of work includes:

• History of Europe from the commencement of the French revolution in 1789, to the restoration of the Bourbons in 1815, Volumes I–X (1833–1843, revised editions through 1872).
• The Military Life of John, Duke of Marlborough (1848) New York: Harper & Bros. OCLC 1437529.
• Principles of the Criminal Law of Scotland (1832) Edinburgh: W. Blackwood OCLC 8715591.
• Practice of the Criminal Law of Scotland (1833) Edinburgh: W. Blackwood OCLC 8715578.
• Principles of Population, and Their Connection with Human Happiness (1840) Edinburgh: W. Blackwood.
• Lives of Lord Castlereagh and Sir Charles Stewart (1861) Edinburgh: W. Blackwood OCLC 456774545.
• Some Account of My Life and Writings: An Autobiography, Volumes I–II (1883) Edinburgh: W. Blackwood OCLC 4385121.

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Cousin, John William (1910). A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London: J. M. Dent & Sons. Wikisource 

External links

• Works by Archibald Alison at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Sir Archibald Alison, 1st Baronet at Internet Archive