Author: Gall, Richard
Biography:
GALL, Richard (1776-1801: ODNB)
He was born at Linkhouse, near Dunbar; his parents’ names are unknown but his father was a notary. He attended school at Haddington before being apprenticed to his uncle, a carpenter and builder, at the age of eleven. This work did not suit him and, when the family moved to Edinburgh, he was apprenticed to David Ramsay, printer of The Edinburgh Evening Courant—work more to his taste. Following his apprenticeship, he became Ramsay’s travelling clerk. Gall was introduced to Burns, Hector MacNeill, Thomas Campbell, and the Rev Dr Alexander Murray. When he died of a tumour in 1801 he was living in Leith; he was buried on 14 May. His poems are in dialect and some of his songs became very popular. (ODNB 11 Dec. 2018; findmypast.co.uk 14 Jan. 2025) SR
Other Names:
- Gall