Olympiados at 06:45, 1 January 2026

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{{short description|Scottish orientalist, translator and folklorist (1775–1811)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:John Leyden, 1775 - 1811. Physician and poet.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Dr. John Leyden by W. and A.K. Johnston, [https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/33787 National Galleries of Scotland]]]

'''John Caspar Leyden'''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Iainthepoet|date=2011-09-08|title=On this day in Scotland: Dr. John Casper Leyden M.D.|url=https://iainthepict.blogspot.com/2011/09/dr-john-casper-leyden-md.html|access-date=2021-10-10|website=On this day in Scotland|archive-date=10 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010011131/https://iainthepict.blogspot.com/2011/09/dr-john-casper-leyden-md.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> (8 September 1775 – 28 August 1811) was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] poet, [[indologist]] and folklorist.

==Biography==
Leyden was born at [[Denholm]] on the [[River Teviot]], not far from [[Hawick]]. His father, a [[shepherd]], had contrived to send him to [[Edinburgh University]] to study for the [[Christian ministry|ministry]]. Leyden was a diligent but somewhat haphazard student, apparently reading everything except [[theology]], for which he seems to have had no taste. Though he completed his [[Divinity (academic discipline)|divinity]] course, and in 1798 was licensed to preach from the [[presbytery (church polity)|presbytery]] of [[St Andrews]], it soon became clear that the [[pulpit]] was not his [[vocation]].

In 1794, Leyden formed an acquaintance with [[Robert Anderson (author)|Dr Robert Anderson]], editor of ''The British Poets'', and of ''The Literary Magazine''. It was Anderson who later introduced him to [[Alexander Murray (linguist)|Dr Alexander Murray]], and Murray, probably, who led him to the study of Eastern languages. They became warm friends and generous rivals, though Leyden excelled, perhaps, in the rapid acquisition of new tongues and acquaintance with their literature, while Murray was the more scientific [[philologist]].

Through Anderson also he came to know [[Richard Heber]], by whom he came to the notice of [[Walter Scott]], who was then collecting materials for his ''Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border'' (1802).<ref>Young, William A (2022), ''The Ghosts of the Forest: The Lost Mythology of the North'', Inter-Celtic, p. 432, {{isbn|9781399920223}}</ref> Leyden was admirably fitted for helping in this kind of work, for he was a [[Border country|borderer]] himself, and an enthusiastic lover of old [[ballad]]s and [[folklore]]. Scott tells how, on one occasion, Leyden walked 40 miles to get the last two verses of a ballad, and returned at midnight, singing it all the way with his loud, harsh voice, to the wonder and consternation of the poet and his household.

Other work on Scottish customs includes the editing of the 16th-century tract ''[[The Complaynt of Scotland]]'', adding an essay exploring Scottish folk music and customs,<ref name="Grove">{{Cite Grove |last=Johnson |first=David |title=John Leyden}}</ref> printing a volume of Scottish descriptive poems, and nearly finishing his ''Scenes of Infancy'', a diffuse poem based on border scenes and traditions. Leyden meanwhile compiled a work on the ''Discoveries and Settlements of Europeans in Northern and Western Africa'', suggested by [[Mungo Park (explorer)|Mungo Park]]'s travels. He also made some translations from [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Arabic language|Arabic]] poetry.

At last his friends got him an appointment in [[India]] on the medical staff, for which he qualified by a year's hard work. In 1803, he sailed for [[Chennai|Madras]], and took his place in the general hospital there. He was promoted to be [[natural history|naturalist]] to the commissioners going to survey [[Mysore]]. In 1807, he was appointed Magistrate of the 24 Parganas under the patronage of [[Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto|Lord Minto]], Governor of India. In 1808, his knowledge of the languages of [[India]] procured him an appointment as professor of [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] in the [[College of Fort William]] in [[Kolkata|Calcutta]]. He soon after resigned for a judgeship, and that again to be Commissioner of the Court of Requests in 1808, a post which required a familiarity with several Eastern [[language]]s.<ref>Bastin, J. (2002). John Leyden and the Publication of the “Malay Annals” (1821). Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 75(2 (283)), 106. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41493475</ref>

In October 1805, Leyden arrived in [[Penang]] (also known as Prince of Wales Island) to recuperate following an illness.<ref>Brown, T. (1875). The Poetical works of Dr. John Leyden: with Memoir by Thomas Brown. https://archive.org/details/poeticalworksdr00leydgoog/page/n80/mode/2up</ref> It was there that he made the acquaintance of [[Stamford Raffles]], then the Assistant Secretary under the Honorable [[Philip Dundas]], the governor of Penang. For the rest of his stay in Penang, Leyden took up residence in Raffles’ home and was enamoured with [[Olivia Mariamne Raffles|Olivia Raffles]], dedicating his poems “Christmas in Penang”<ref>[https://archive.org/details/poeticalworksdr00leydgoog/page/n316/mode/2up "Christmas in Penang"]</ref> and “Dirge of the Departed Year”<ref>[https://archive.org/details/poeticalworksdr00leydgoog/page/n292/mode/2up "Dirge of the Departed Year"]</ref><ref>Leyden, J. C. (1806, March 22). Dirge of the Departed Year. Prince of Wales Island Gazette.</ref> to her. The latter poem is notable for its early usage of the word "[[British Malaya|Malaya]]" to refer to the [[Malay Peninsula]]. Leyden and Raffles shared a common interest in Eastern languages, and it was during this brief stay that Leyden worked on an English translation of the [[Malay Annals]], which was posthumously published with an introduction by Raffles in 1821.<ref>Leyden, J., & Raffles, T. S. (1821). Malay Annals. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown.</ref>

He would continue his correspondence with Raffles after leaving the island on 17 January 1806.<ref>Bastin, J. S. (2006). John Leyden and Thomas Stamford Raffles.</ref> While in [[Calcutta]], Leyden recommended Raffles to [[Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto|Lord Minto]], later setting into motion the events of the [[Invasion of Java (1811)|British invasion of Java]] in 1811.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}} In his letter to [[Olivia Mariamne Raffles|Olivia Raffles]], dated 22 October 1810, he revealed that he had been promoted to the position of [[Assay|Assay Master]] at the [[Calcutta Mint]]. He had also settled with Raffles he would be appointed [[Secretary]] when Raffles was the Governor of [[Java]].<ref>Bastin, J. S. (2002). The Wives of Sir Stamford Raffles: Olivia Mariamne Raffles.</ref>

In 1811, Leyden joined [[Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto|Lord Minto]] and [[Stamford Raffles]] in the expedition to [[Java (island)|Java]]. Having entered a library which was said to contain many Eastern manuscripts, without having the place aired, he was seized with [[Jakarta|Batavian fever]] (possibly [[malaria]] or [[dengue]]) and died, after three days' illness, on 28 August 1811. He was buried on the island, underneath a small firefly colony, which remains as his tombstone to this day.

Leyden has importance for the Punjab and the Sikh community. Recently{{when|date=December 2021}} surfaced manuscripts in the British Library show he translated Punjabi works into English. These have been commented on and discussed by Sikh historian Gurinder Singh Mann from Leicester, UK. The Panjab Cultural Association created the website www.drleyden.co.uk and a booklet regarding the project in November 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.drleyden.co.uk/ |title="The Significance of the Translations of Dr Leyden to the Sikh and Panjabi community" |access-date=21 December 2011 |archive-date=8 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108025318/http://www.drleyden.co.uk/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The manuscript of Leyden's ''Journal of a Tour in the [[Scottish Highlands|Highlands]] and Western Islands of Scotland in 1800'' was published posthumously in 1903. It was edited, with a comprehensive bibliography of Leyden's works and manuscripts, by the antiquary [[James Sinton]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000323764|title=Journal of a tour in the Highlands and Western Islands of Scotland in 1800, by John Leyden, ed., with a bibliography, by James Sinton|location=Edinburgh|publisher=W. Blackwood & Sons|year=1903}}</ref>

==Works==
*[https://archive.org/details/memoirsofzehired01babuuoft Memoirs of Zehir-Ed-Din Muhammed Babur, emperor of Hindustan]
*[https://d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/text/leyden-scenes-of-infancy Scenes of Infancy: Descriptive of Teviotdale] (1803)

===Translations===
* {{citation
| last = Leyden
| first = John
| title = Malay Annals (translated from the Malay language)
| publisher = Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown
| year = 1821
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=J9JAAAAAYAAJ
}}
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=bsCGNQEACAAJ&q=malay+annals Malay Annals, Translated from the Malay Language By... John Leyden...]

===Memoirs===
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=f5leAAAAcAAJ&dq=malay+annals+john+leyden&pg=PP7 The Poetical Remains of the Late Dr. John Leyden,: With Memoirs of His Life, By John Leyden, James Morton]
*[https://archive.org/details/poeticalremains01mortgoog The poetical remains of the late Dr. John Leyden, : with memoirs of his life, (1819)]
*[https://archive.org/details/poeticalremains02mortgoog The poetical remains of the late Dr. John Leyden, : with memoirs of his life, (1819)]
*[https://archive.org/details/poeticalworksdr00leydgoog The Poetical Works of Dr. John Leyden (1875)]
*[https://archive.org/details/poeticalremainso00leyd The poetical remains of the late Dr. John Leyden, with memoirs of his life (1819)]

==See also==
*[[List of 18th-century British working-class writers]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=F30MAAAAYAAJ The Poetical Remains of the Late Dr. John Leyden,: With Memoirs of His Life] at Google Books.
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Leyden, John}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
*{{wikisource author-inline}}
* {{librivox author|id=13773}}
* [http://www.denholmvillage.co.uk/LeydenMonument.pdf ''Inauguration of the Leyden Monument'', 19 October 1861] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150324180021/http://denholmvillage.co.uk/LeydenMonument.pdf |date=24 March 2015 }}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leyden, John}}
[[Category:1775 births]]
[[Category:1811 deaths]]
[[Category:People from the Scottish Borders]]
[[Category:Infectious disease deaths in Indonesia]]
[[Category:Scottish orientalists]]
[[Category:Scottish antiquarians]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Deaths from dengue fever]]
[[Category:Deaths from malaria]]

John Leyden - Revision history

Olympiados at 06:45, 1 January 2026