Dempster

Dempster, Thomas, was born at Cliftbog, Aberdeenshire, in 1579. He began his education at Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, and continued it in a very erratic fashion at Paris, Louvain, Rome, Douai, and Tournay. He then got the professorship of eloquence in the Protestant Academy of Nimes, but resigned it two years later in consequence of a quarrel, visited Spain, returned to Scotland, and finally settled in Paris. His learning won him several appointments, notably that of president of the College of Beauvais. In 1615 James I. invited him to London, but he left in disgust, and next appeared in Italy. Here he obtained a chair in the University of Pisa, but his temper again marred his career. His last days were spent at Bologna, where his wife eloped with a student, an event which brought on a fever and caused his death in 1625. He left many works, the most noteworthy being the Historia Gentis Scotorum.