Chambers William

Chambers, William, was born in 1800 at Peebles. On the removal of the family to Edinburgh he was in 1813 apprenticed to a bookseller, and in 1819 started in business for himself. His beginnings were small, and his struggles, most interestingly told in his Story of a Long and Busy Life by himself, were severe. At length, in 1832, he started Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, the famous pioneer of periodical literature. Thereafter, in conjunction with his brother, Robert, he produced several serial publications of a popular and informing character, such as the Cyclopedia of English Literature, Information for the People, Papers for the People, and Chambers's Encyclopedia. He won the usual rewards of a well-spent life; was elected twice Lord Provost of the Scottish capital, was granted the degree of LL.D. by the university of Edinburgh, and shortly before his death was offered a baronetcy. He died in 1883.