b. 8 September 1833. d. 11 October 1894. Nationality: Scottish. VIAF.
Literary scholar, writer, and poet. Pseudonym: “J. N.” Attended Balliol College, Oxford,
and the University of Glasgow (as a Snell Exhibitioner). Studied under Robert Buchanan
and became friends with Sydney Dobell. Wrote the introduction to Dobell’s *Poems*
(1875) and *Thoughts on Art, Philosophy, and Religion* (1876). Edited the *Glasgow
University Album* (1854). Privately published *Fragments of Criticism* (1859), featuring
remarks on Carlyle and Browning. His poetic works include *Hannibal* (1873) and *The
Death of Themistocles and Other Poems* (1881). Jointly with Algernon Swinburne, Albert
Venn Dicey, and Thomas Hill Green, he founded the reading society Old Mortality. Became
first Regius Chair of English Literature at the University of Glasgow in 1862. More
widely known as a critic than as a poet. Biographical information: *ODNB*. (KH, DD)