Scott, Sir Walter. Born in 1771. Novelist. Was the son of a writer to the signet in Edinburgh, and practiced for a few years as an advocate, being appointed clerk of the Court of Session in 1806. After some translations from the German, Scott began to write ballads: the "Lay of the Last Minstrel," being followed by "Marmion," "The Lady of the Lake," and other poems. In 1814, he published "Waverley," anonymously, and in succeeding years appeared the series called by that name. In 1820 Scott was made a baronet, but six years after he was ruined by the bankruptcy of Messrs. Constable, and he spent his later years in an honorable and successful attempt to meet his liabilities by means of his "Life of Napoleon," "Tales of a Grandfather," and contributions to the "Quarterly Review." His life was written by his son-in-law, Lockhart, and his "Journal" was published in 1890. Scott died in 1832.

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