Ramsay, Allan |
| POET, PLAYWRIGHT, LIBRARIAN, PUBLISHER (SCOTLAND) |
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BORN 15 Jan 1686, Leadhills, Lanarkshire - DIED 7 Jan 1758, Edinburgh GRAVE LOCATION Edinburgh: Greyfriars Kirkyard, 26A Candlemaker Row (cenotaph on south side of church (grave unmarked)) |
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Allan Ramsay was the son of John Ramsay, the superintendent of Lord Hopetoun's lead-mines. He was educated as a wig-maker and started his own business in the High Street in Edinburgh. In 1712 he married Christian Ross. They had six children. Their eldest son Allan would become a well know portrait painter. He wrote his first verses after meetings of the Easy Club that was founded in 1712. In 1715 he became the Club Laureate. He published soms of his verses in 1718 on broadsheets and turned to bookseller. In 1721 he published a collections of his poetry. He extended his bookselling business and added a circulating library to it in 1726, possibly the first in Britain. In 1725 he published his drama "The Gentle Shepherd" that was performed at the theatre in Edinburgh. He published another volume of poems in 1728 but didn't write much afterwards. In 1731 a complete edition of his poems was published in London. By this time he corresponded with literary men lik John Gay and Alexander Pope. In 1755 he retired from his shop to a house on the slope of Castle Rock in Edinburgh. He died in 1758. He was buried at Greyfriars Kirkyard. The location of his grave is unknown, but there is a cenotaph for him on the south side of church. |
| Images | |
 The cenotaph for Allan Ramsay at Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh. Picture by Androom (06 Nov 2019) |
 The cenotaph for Allan Ramsay at Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh. Picture by Androom (06 Nov 2019) |
Sources • Allan Ramsay (poet) - Wikipedia |
