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Author: Blacklock, Thomas

Biography:

BLACKLOCK, Thomas (1721-91: ODNB)

Poet, writer, advocate for the education of the blind. He was born at Annan, Dumfriesshire, to John Blacklock, a bricklayer, and Ann (Rae) Blacklock. Smallpox caused the loss of his sight in early infancy. Despite his blindness, he was sent to Edinburgh to attend a grammar school and the University of Edinburgh where David Hume became a mentor and supporter. His first book of poetry, Poems on Several Occasions, was published in 1746 at Glasgow. He was licensed to preach at Dumfries in 1759, and was set to become the minister at Kirkcudbright, but his appointment met with violent opposition from parishioners who claimed that he was disqualified for the post on account of his blindness. A legal case followed but the kirk session continued to oppose him after his ordination in 1762. Eventually Blacklock and his wife, Sarah Johnston (whom he had married in 1762), moved to Edinburgh where they opened a boarding house for university and medical students. His Essay on Universal Etymology (1756) is in both prose and verse, and it was followed by two volumes of poetry in 1760 and 1762; Blacklock also contributed to journals, and his essay on blindness was published in the 1783 edition of Encyclopedia Britannica. Blacklock was awarded an honorary DD by Marischal College in 1767. He subscribed to the Kilmarnock edition of Burns’s poems and was influential in persuading Burns to seek an enlarged second edition in Edinburgh. An accomplished musician, Blacklock collaborated on the Scots Musical Museum (1787-1803). He was a strong advocate for the education of the blind and, learning of the use of raised text being developed in France by Valentin Haüy, he translated into English Haüy’s 1789 treatise. After a brief illness, he died at his home in Edinburgh. (ODNB 30 Apr 2018)

 

Books written (3):

Edinburgh: printed by Balfour and Smellie, 1772
Edinburgh: [no publisher: printed by Chapman, sold by Creech], 1793