Colin Macfarquhar (1744 or 1745? – 2 April 1793 or May 1793, Edinburgh?, Scotland) [1] [2] was a Scottish bookseller and printer who is most known for co-founding Encyclopædia Britannica with Andrew Bell, first published in December 1768. [3] [4] The dates of his birth and death remain uncertain, even to Britannica itself. [1]
Macfarquhar was born in Edinburgh to his father James Macfarquhar who was a wigmaker and his mother Margaret. [2] [5] His formal education ended when he was apprenticed to a printing firm and achieved the status of a master printer in 1767. [5] On 13 December 1767 Macfarquhar married Jane whose father, James Scruton, was an accountant in Glasgow. [2] [5] Macfarquhar and Jane had one son and four daughters. [2]
Macfarquhar opened a printing shop in Edinburgh one or two years after getting married. [5] The first edition of Britannica was sold at his printing office in Nicolson Street. [1] Macfarquhar also contributed heavily to the second and third editions of Britannica. [6]
Colin Macfarquhar (1744 or 1745? – 2 April 1793 or May 1793, Edinburgh?, Scotland) [1] [2] was a Scottish bookseller and printer who is most known for co-founding Encyclopædia Britannica with Andrew Bell, first published in December 1768. [3] [4] The dates of his birth and death remain uncertain, even to Britannica itself. [1]
Macfarquhar was born in Edinburgh to his father James Macfarquhar who was a wigmaker and his mother Margaret. [2] [5] His formal education ended when he was apprenticed to a printing firm and achieved the status of a master printer in 1767. [5] On 13 December 1767 Macfarquhar married Jane whose father, James Scruton, was an accountant in Glasgow. [2] [5] Macfarquhar and Jane had one son and four daughters. [2]
Macfarquhar opened a printing shop in Edinburgh one or two years after getting married. [5] The first edition of Britannica was sold at his printing office in Nicolson Street. [1] Macfarquhar also contributed heavily to the second and third editions of Britannica. [6]