by David McVey
THERE are people in Scotland have still never heard of Thomas Muir. This is astonishing, given that in 2015, the 250th anniversary of his birth, Muir was being celebrated as ‘The Father of Scottish Democracy’. Now, as a new book of essays about Muir hits the bookshops, here’s what you need to know
Muir was born in 1765. His father was a shopkeeper in Glasgow’s High Street, styling himself both as general grocer and as ‘hop merchant’ - he had connection with Kent hop growers. Muir began studying at Glasgow University aged just 12, at a time when the campus was just along the High Street. He studied Divinity, but later switched to Law. This wasn’t a loss of faith; rather, Muir decided that a career in law offered an opportunity to defend poor people and promote social justice, as Christians were supposed to. In 1782 his father acquired the estate of Huntershill in what is now Bishopbriggs; Thomas was now Muir the Younger of Huntershill.
READ MORE
Purchase options below
Find the complete article and many more in this issue of
iScot Magazine
-
December 2016
If you own the issue,
Login to read the full article now.
|
Single Issue - December 2016
|
|
|
$2.99
Or 299 points
|
|
|
Annual Digital Subscription
Only $
2.58 per issue
Get the last 12 back issues free with this subscription
|
SAVE
14%
|
|
|
|
|
About iScot Magazine
December XL Edition
The one with the "Supertrump - Brexit in America" front cover
The Rev Stu Campbell interview with Peter A Bell