William Minto

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William Minto (born October 10, 1845 in Nether Auchintoul near Alford , Aberdeenshire , † March 1, 1893 in Aberdeen ) was a Scottish philologist (Anglist), philosopher , author , journalist and university professor .

Life

Minto was the son of the farmer James Minto and his wife Barbara Copland. He attended various village and private schools, including Gordon Schools in Huntly . In 1861 he attended the University of Aberdeen supported by a scholarship and was able to come up with awards in three subjects, in mathematics , classics and philosophy . This achievement was unprecedented and remained unmatched - until at least 1894. In 1865 he completed his studies with an MA and then attended Divinity Hall in Aberdeen in 1865/66 before moving to the University of Oxford where he deepened his philosophy studies at Merton College . He left the university after a year without having obtained a degree.

Minto returned to Aberdeen, where he briefly assisted in natural history before being assigned to Alexander Bain as an assistant. Minto Bain assisted from 1867 to 1873 while writing the Manual of English Prose Literature, Biographical and Critical , an exhaustive work that was published in 1872.

In 1873 Minto, like Bain before him, went to London, where he tried his hand at being a journalist . He wrote literary and political articles for The Examiner magazine . For four years, from 1874 to 1878, he was also editor-in-chief of the paper . He was hired to write editorials for the Daily News , where he wrote biting reviews of Benjamin Disraeli's imperial policies , allegedly promoting the term jingoism . In 1874 he published Characteristics of English Poets from Chaucer to Shirley and in 1879 a monograph on Daniel Defoe in the English Men of Letters series. He also wrote some articles on literary topics for the Encyclopædia Britannica .

On January 8, 1880, Minto married Cornelia Griffiths, daughter of a clergyman from Swindon . When Bain retired from the Regius Professorship of Logic in 1880 , Minto was appointed as his successor. Minto kept the professorship until his death. As was common in Scottish universities at the time, Minto taught logic and English literature. Minto put the focus of his work on literature. He published Walter Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel in 1886 and Lady of the Lake in 1891 . Scott's poetic works followed in 1887, and in 1892 the autobiographical notes and the Life of William Bell Scott . He also wrote three novels, The Crack of Doom (1886), The Mediation of Ralph Hardelot (1888) and Was she good or bad? (1889).

In 1891 Minto fell seriously ill. A spa stay in Greece brought brief relief. He finally succumbed to his ailment on March 1, 1893 in Aberdeen, immediately after the university administration recognized the separation of English literature and logic and he could have concentrated on his preferred subject. Minto's handbook for the university, Logic Inductive and Deductive , was published along with Plain Principles of Prose Composition in 1893. A third volume followed in 1894, English Literature under the Georges .

Minto's career was remarkably similar to that of Bain, but nothing in his intellectual achievements or influence can match Bain, who made a monument for himself with the development of scientific psychology.

bibliography

Non-fiction

  • 1872: Manual of English Prose Literature, Biographical and Critical
  • 1874: Characteristics of English Poets from Chaucer to Shirley
  • 1879: Daniel Defoe in the series "English Men of Letters"
  • 1893: Logic: Inductive and Deductive
  • 1893: University Extension Manual on Logic
  • 1893: Plain Principles of Prose Composition
  • 1894: English Literature under the Georges

Fiction

  • 1886: The Crack of Doom
  • 1888: The Mediation of Ralph Hardelot
  • 1889: What She Good or Bad?

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Gordon Graham, Princeton Theological Seminary: William Minto (1845-1893). In: Institute for the Study of Scottish Philosophy website. Retrieved May 22, 2020 (English).
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Alexander Mackie: Minto, William (DNB00). Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 38.Retrieved May 22, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e unknown: Minto, William. In: 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 18. Retrieved May 22, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Minto, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Minto, W.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish author, journalist and philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH October 10, 1845
PLACE OF BIRTH Nether Auchintoul at Alford , Aberdeenshire
DATE OF DEATH March 1, 1893
Place of death Aberdeen