author
Alexander Stewart
1764–1821
Best remembered for a landmark early grammar of Scottish Gaelic, this Scottish minister brought a scholar’s care to a language he loved. His work helped preserve and explain Gaelic for generations of readers and students.
1 Audiobook
Elements of Gaelic Grammar
by Alexander Stewart
About the author
Born in 1764 and dying in 1821, he was a Scottish Presbyterian minister and Gaelic scholar associated with Moulin in Perthshire and later with Canongate in Edinburgh. Surviving library and catalog records consistently connect him with the study of Scottish Gaelic and with church ministry.
His best-known book is Elements of Gaelic Grammar, first published in Edinburgh in 1812. The work became an important early reference for Scottish Gaelic, and later editions kept it in circulation long after his death.
That mix of pastoral work and serious language study is what makes him memorable today. Even where biographical details are sparse, his reputation rests securely on the lasting influence of his Gaelic scholarship.