American jurist, born near Campbeltown, Scotland, in 1748; died at Carlisle, PA, on the 25th of June 1816. In 1821 his father settled in Pennsylvania. He graduated from Princeton (1771), then spent some years teaching there and in Maryland. At about this time he wrote for his pupils a drama, Bunker Hill; edited the United States Magazine; studied divinity and served as chaplain in the army. Dropping these varied pursuits, he applied himself to law, was admitted to the bar, practiced in Pittsburg, PA, and soon obtained such prominence that he was elected to the legislature (1786). In 1799 he was appointed to the supreme bench of the state, and held the office up to his death. He was author of poems and essays, but his best-known work is a story in the form of a political satire which is largely drawn from his own experiences, entitled Modern Chivalry, or the Adventures of Captain Farrago and Teague O’Regan, his Servant.
