Robert Carruthers

Born in 1799 in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, he began his working life as a teacher and published an early History of Huntingdon in 1824. He later moved into journalism and became closely associated with the Inverness Courier, serving as its editor for many years and earning a reputation as a capable and energetic literary journalist.

Alongside newspaper work, he wrote and edited a wide variety of books. His best-known work includes editions and studies connected with Robert Burns, as well as reference and educational writing intended for a broad reading public. That mix of literary interest and practical publishing helped make him a familiar name in 19th-century Scottish literary culture.

He died in 1878. Although not as widely known today as some of the writers he wrote about, he played an important part in Victorian literary journalism and in keeping major Scottish authors, especially Burns, before the reading public.