Donald A. (Donald Alexander) Mackenzie

Born in Cromarty in 1873, Donald Alexander Mackenzie built his career first in journalism before becoming widely known for his books on mythology, religion, folklore, and anthropology. He worked in Glasgow, later owned and edited The North Star in Dingwall, then moved on to the People's Journal in Dundee and later represented The Bulletin in Edinburgh.

He was an especially prolific writer, producing books, articles, poems, lectures, and radio talks. Much of his appeal lies in the way he brought traditional stories and comparative mythology to ordinary readers, whether he was writing about Scottish legend, ancient civilizations, or broader religious themes.

Some of his ideas reflected the speculative scholarship of his time, and not all of them have held up well with later researchers. Even so, his books remain interesting as energetic retellings and as examples of how mythology and folklore were presented to popular audiences in the early 1900s. He died in Edinburgh in 1936 and was buried in Cromarty.