John Veitch (poet)

John Veitch

John Veitch (24 October 1829 – 3 September 1894), Scottish philosopher, poet and historian. He was born in Peebles, the only son of Peninsular War veteran James Veitch and his wife Nancy Ritchie, a woman steeped in the folk traditions of the Borders. He was educated at the University of Edinburgh.[1]

He was assistant lecturer successively to Sir William Hamilton and Alexander Campbell Fraser (1856–60). In 1860 he was appointed to the chair of logic, metaphysics and rhetoric at the University of St Andrews, and in 1864 to the corresponding chair at the University of Glasgow.[1]

In St. Andrews, he lived at 8 Playfair Terrace.[2]

In Glasgow, he lectured to working men and women and between 1877 and 1883 put on courses for the Glasgow Association for the Higher Education of Women. He founded the Scottish Mountaineering Club in 1892. He deplored the damaging environmental impacts of industrialisation and campaigned to save old buildings.[3]

In philosophy an intuitionist, he was dismissive of idealist arguments. He is remembered chiefly for his work on the literature and antiquities of the Scottish Borders. See Memoir by his niece, Mary RL Bryce (1896).[1]

  1. ^ a b c John Veitch. University of Glasgow
  2. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ Cowley, Stephen (1994) John Veitch, Scottish Philosopher, Poet and Literary Critic, in Edinburgh Review Issue 92, Edinburgh, pp. 141 - 147