Author: Napier, Macvey
Biography:
NAPIER, Macvey (1776-1847: ODNB)
Born at Kirkintilloch, Dunbartonshire, he was the son of John Macvey and his wife, Jean Napier (the natural daughter of John Napier of Craigannet, Stirlingshire). He was christened Napier Macvey but later changed his name to flatter his grandfather. He was educated at the village school before attending the University of Glasgow and studying law at the University of Edinburgh. He was admitted as a Writer to the Signet in 1799 and became librarian to the Society of Writers to the Signet in 1805. In 1798 he married Catherine Skene; they had ten children. Napier’s literary and academic interests soon took precedence over his legal practice. He began contributing to the Edinburgh Review in 1805 and succeeded Francis Jeffrey (q.v.) as editor in 1829; edited a supplement to the 6th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica (1814-1824); and was appointed the first professor in conveyancing at the University of Edinburgh in 1824. He brought in sometimes controversial editorial changes to the Edinburgh Review (for example, shortening the length of articles) and witnessed the decline in the influence of the quarterly periodicals. In 1837 he was appointed one of the principal clerks of session in Edinburgh; he was also a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Society of Antiquaries. He died at Edinburgh and was buried in Saint John Episcopal graveyard. His son, Macvey Napier, edited a collection of his correspondence (1879). (ODNB 14 May 2020)