Author: MACLAURIN, John
Biography:
MACLAURIN, John (1734-96: ODNB)
Judge and writer. He was the eldest son of Colin Maclaurin, a mathematician and Edinburgh professor, and his wife, Anne (Stewart), brother to Mary Maclaurin (q.v.), and father of Colin and George Maclaurin (qq.v.). His father died when he was just twelve and the family lived on a reduced income but Maclaurin attended Edinburgh High School and the university. He studied law and became an advocate in 1756. In 1762 he married Esther Cunninghame (d 1780) and they had ten children but just three were still living at the time of his death. His satiric Philosopher’s Opera was produced for private circulation and was excluded, with some other works, from the posthumous collection edited by his son, Colin. A classical scholar, he was an early fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (founded 1783). In 1788 he was appointed a senator to the College of Justice as Lord Dreghorn—the name derives from his home at Dreghorn Castle, Colinton, Edinburgh. In later life he withdrew from society and he died at home of a “putrid fever.” He was buried in Greyfriars churchyard, in his father’s grave. (ODNB 16 Apr. 2020)