Author: Sinclair, John
Biography:
SINCLAIR, John (1754-1835: ODNB)
He was the eldest surviving son of Lady Janet (Sutherland) and George Sinclair of Ulbster, and was born at Thurso Castle, Caithness. After attending the High School and university in Edinburgh, he studied at the universities of Glasgow and, from 1775, Oxford. He entered Lincoln’s Inn in 1774, became a member of the faculty of advocates in Edinburgh in 1775, and was called to the English bar in 1782. On inheriting his father’s estates at the age of sixteen he immediately set about improvements; his lifelong interest in agriculture led, in 1793, to his appointment as the first president of the Board of Agriculture. From 1780, he was MP for Caithness and, in 1786, he was made a baronet by William Pitt although the two were not always in political agreement. In the 1790s he commenced work on what was to become the twenty-one volumes of the Statistical Account of Scotland. In 1811 he was appointed commissioner of excise at a handsome salary; he resigned his parliamentary seat and, two years later, his presidency of the Board of Agriculture. He was twice married: in 1776, to Sarah Maitland (d 1785) and, in 1788, to Diana Macdonald with whom he had numerous children including George Sinclair (q.v.). He was an astonishingly prolific writer and the two works of his in the database reflect his interest in the controversy over the authenticity of James Macpherson’s (q.v.) Ossian poems: Sinclair was president of the committee that oversaw publication of the Gaelic texts with Latin translations in 1807. He died at his home in Edinburgh and was buried in Holyroodhouse. His wife died ten years later and was buried beside him. (ODNB 28 Oct. 2020) SR