Donald Macintosh facts for kids

Donald Macintosh (1743–1808) was a Scottish clergyman and a very important scholar of Scottish Gaelic, a language spoken in Scotland. He was part of the Scottish Episcopal Church, but he was a "nonjuror." This meant he didn't swear loyalty to the new king after the Glorious Revolution in 1688, because he believed the previous king was still the rightful ruler.

Early Life and Work

Donald Macintosh was born in 1743 in a place called Orchilmore, near Killiecrankie in Perthshire, Scotland. His father was a cooper, who made barrels, and a crofter, a small-scale farmer.

He went to the local school and even worked as a teacher for a while. Later, he moved to Edinburgh, a big city in Scotland.

In 1774, Donald Macintosh had an interesting job: he worked as a penny postman for Peter Williamson. This was a special mail service that delivered letters for just one penny. After that, he worked as a copying clerk, writing out documents by hand. He also became a tutor, teaching children in the family of Stewart of Gairntully. From 1785, he worked in a legal office for several years.

Becoming a Clergyman

Donald Macintosh was very interested in the Gaelic language. In 1786, he was chosen to be the clerk for the Gaelic language for the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. This group studied old things and history in Scotland. He held this important role until 1789.

In 1789, a clergyman named James Brown chose Donald Macintosh to follow in his footsteps. James Brown was the last remaining clergyman of the "nonjuring" Scottish Episcopal Church. Macintosh was ordained as a deacon in June 1789, and then later as a priest.

For some time, Donald Macintosh traveled around, not staying in one place. Eventually, he settled in Edinburgh. However, he still made yearly trips through the Scottish Highlands, going as far north as Banff, Aberdeenshire. On these trips, he ministered to the small group of people who followed his religious authority.

In 1801, Donald Macintosh was given another important role. He became the Gaelic translator and keeper of Gaelic records for the Highland Society of Scotland. This meant he helped translate Gaelic documents and looked after important Gaelic writings. He received a salary for this work.

Donald Macintosh passed away in Edinburgh on November 22, 1808. He was 65 years old and had never married. He was the last person to represent the nonjuring Scottish Episcopal Church. He was buried in Greyfriars churchyard in Edinburgh.

His Important Library

Donald Macintosh loved books and manuscripts. He had a large collection of about 2,000 books and old handwritten documents. When he died, he left this entire collection to the town of Dunkeld.

His books were kept together and became known as "The Macintosh Library." More books were added to it over time. However, it's not clear if all his valuable handwritten manuscripts also went to Dunkeld.

His Published Works

Donald Macintosh is best known for creating A Collection of Gaelic Proverbs and Familiar Phrases. This book was published in Edinburgh in 1785. It was the very first collection of Celtic proverbs ever published!

The book included the Gaelic proverbs and phrases, along with their English translations. It also had notes to explain them. As an extra part, the book included a Gaelic translation of Benjamin Franklin's famous work, The Way to Wealth. This translation was actually done by Robert Macfarlane, an Edinburgh schoolmaster.

Later, in 1819, a second edition of Macintosh's proverb collection was made by Alexander Campbell. Another collection of proverbs, based on Macintosh's original work, was published in 1881 and 1882 by Alexander Nicolson.

The famous writer Walter Scott used Donald Macintosh's work a lot. He borrowed many Gaelic phrases and ideas from Macintosh's collection for his character Evan Dhu Maccombich in his novel Waverley, which was published in 1814.

Donald Macintosh also helped create lists of Gaelic manuscripts for the Highland Society. He even copied some of these old manuscripts himself. He also collected old Gaelic poetry. One piece he found from Lochaber in 1784, called Ceardach Mhic Luin, was published in a book called Sean Dain in 1786.