Sir Archibald Alison, Bt | |
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Sir Archibald Alison
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Born |
Parsonage of Kenley, Shropshire |
29 December 1792
Died | 23 May 1867 Possil House, Glasgow |
(aged 74)
Resting place | Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh |
Occupation | Advocate Historian |
Nationality | Scottish |
Citizenship | United Kingdom |
Alma mater | Edinburgh University |
Genre | Law History |
Notable works |
Principles of the Criminal Law of Scotland (1832) The Practice of the Criminal Law (1833) History of Europe, 19 volumes (1833–1843) |
Spouse | Elizabeth Glencairn Tytler (m. 1825) (d. 1874) |
Relatives | Father: Rev Archibald Alison Brother: Professor William Alison Uncle: Professor James Gregory Cousin: Professor William Gregory |
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Sir Archibald Alison, 1st Baronet, FRSE (29 December 1792 – 23 May 1867) was a Scottish advocate and historian. He held several prominent legal appointments. He was the younger son of the Episcopalian cleric and author Archibald Alison. His elder brother was the physician and social reformer William Alison.
He was born at the parsonage at Kenley, Shropshire, to the Rev. Archibald Alison and his wife Dorothea Gregory, daughter of John Gregory, and granddaughter of James Forbes, 17th Lord Forbes. In 1800 his parents moved the family back to Edinburgh, as his father thought that he could give his sons a better education and more independent careers in Scotland.
After studying under a private tutor, and at the University of Edinburgh, he was, in 1814, admitted to the Faculty of Advocates, at which he ultimately attained some distinction, becoming in 1834 Sheriff of Lanarkshire. In 1853, he received a Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law by the University of Oxford.
The University College London, Legacies of British Slave-ownership, two projects based at UCL tracing the impact of slave-ownership on the formation of modern Britain: (the ESRC-funded Legacies of British Slave-ownership project, now complete, and the ESRC and AHRC-funded Structure and significance of British Caribbean slave-ownership 1763-1833, running from 2013-2015), highlight that, Sir Archibald Alison 1st Bart., benefited from the compensation paid out following the abolition of slavery in 1833. According to the record, he benefited from a payment of £4,081,18s,10d, an approximate £346,000 in 2015, made by the government of United Kingdom and Great Britain as recorded by the Slave Compensation Commission and the records held at the National Archives in London. The record containing the facts discovered can be found at the UCL's Legacies of British Slave-ownership database, and the National Archive and the records of the Slave Compensation Commission.