Scott , Sir , Walter , 1771-1832 , 1st Baronet , writer and barrister

Walter Scott was born on 15 August 1771 in Edinburgh. He was educated at Edinburgh High School, 1779-1783 and Edinburgh University, where he studied arts, 1783-1786 and law, 1789-1792. In 1792 Scott was called to the bar and was appointed sheriff-deputy for the county of Selkirkshire in 1799. In 1806 he became clerk to the Court of Session in Edinburgh. In 1813 Scott became a partner in a printing and publishing business, James Ballantyne & Co. In 1825 the company went bankrupt and Scott found himself personally liable for the payments of debt. The company folded the following year. Scott wrote both prose and poetry. His first works were two translations of German ballads by Bürger published in 1796 and 1799. His two volume work Minstrels of The Scottish Border appeared between 1802-1803. His first novel Waverly was published in 1814. He also contributed to the Edinburgh Review and the Quarterly Review. Scott was created a baronet in 1820, the same year as his novel The Abbot was published. He died at Abbotsford on 21 September 1832.