Sir John Dalrymple of Cousland, 4th Baronet FRSE FSA (Scot) (1726 – 26 February 1810) was a Scottish advocate, judge, chemist and author, best known for his Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland from the dissolution of the last parliament of Charles II until the sea battle of La Hogue, first published in 1771. A new edition of 1790 carried on to the capture of the French and Spanish navies at Vigo. The Dalrymples formed a dynasty in the Scottish legal profession. Though he was a central figure in the Scottish Enlightenment and a friend of persons like David Hume and Adam Smith, Dalrymple's writings were little appreciated – he has been seen as an irritating member of the Edinburgh literati.[1]