R. A. (Robert Alexander) Douglas-Lithgow

Born in Belfast in 1846, Robert Alexander Douglas-Lithgow was educated at the Diocesan School in Downpatrick and at Belfast Academical Institution. He trained and worked as a physician, including time in London, while also building a second career as a writer and editor.

His published work ranged widely. He edited the writings and life of the poet John Critchley Prince, wrote poetry of his own, and produced historical and reference works including studies of Nantucket and of American Indian place and proper names in New England. That mix of medical training and literary interests gives his bibliography an unusually broad character.

Douglas-Lithgow died in 1917. Surviving catalog and archival records describe him as both a physician and an author, which suits a career that crossed disciplines with ease.