S. (Samuel) Laing

Born in Edinburgh on 12 December 1812, Samuel Laing was the son of the travel writer Samuel Laing and went on to build an unusually varied career. He studied at Cambridge, trained in law, and became well known in Britain as a railway administrator, serving in senior roles including chairman of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway.

Laing also entered politics. He represented Wick Burghs and later Orkney and Shetland in Parliament, and in the early 1860s he served as Finance Member of the Council of India. That mix of business experience and public service helped shape the practical, argumentative tone of his nonfiction.

As an author, he became especially known for writing about science and religion for general readers in the Victorian period. Books such as Modern Science and Modern Thought and A Modern Zoroastrian show his interest in evolution, belief, and the social changes of his age. He died on 6 August 1897 in Sydenham, leaving behind the work of a writer who tried to make difficult ideas accessible and lively.