Wikipedia Biographical Summary

"James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (25 October 1714 – 26 May 1799) was a Scottish judge, scholar of linguistic evolution, philosopher and deist. He is most famous today as a founder of modern comparative historical linguistics...

...James Burnett was born in 1714 at Monboddo House in Kincardineshire, Scotland. After his primary education at the parish school of Laurencekirk, he studied at Marischal College, Aberdeen from where he graduated in 1729. He also studied at University of Edinburgh and the University of Groningen. At Edinburgh University he graduated in law and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1737...

...Burnett married Elizabethe Farquharson and they had two daughters and a son. Burnett's youngest daughter Elizabeth Burnett was an Edinburgh celebrity, known for her beauty and amiability. Tragically she died of consumption at the age of 25. Burnett's friend Robert Burns had a romantic interest in Eliza and wrote a poem, Elegy on the late Miss Burnet of Monboddo, referencing her beauty and which ultimately became her elegy."

SOURCE: Wikipedia contributors, 'James Burnett, Lord Monboddo', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 10 October 2012, 22:41 UTC, <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Burnett,_Lord_Monboddo&oldid=517085490> [accessed 9 November 2012]