Adam Ferguson ~ Philosopher and Chaplain to the Black Watch


Made in Perth is run as a charity – all information is freely given, please give credit where due. The website is run by and was founded by Dr Paul S Philippou, Honorary Research Fellow in History at the University of Dundee. The vast bulk of the research was undertaken by Dr Philippou with additional research [First and Second World Wars, Suffragettes] by Ken Bruce.

A philosophy who became Professor of Natural Philosophy at Edinburgh University in 1759 and then Professor of Moral Philosophy in 1864. He was born at Logierait in 1723. Prior to his academic career, Adam Ferguson was chaplain to the Black Watch and took part in the ’45 events – he was with the Black Watch at Fontenoy. In 1757 he was appointed as keeper of the Advocate’s Library at Edinburgh; he directly replaced David Hume in this post. As part of Lord North’s commission (he was its secretary), Adam Ferguson was involved in the discussions in North America between Britain and the colonies that took place between the years 1778 and 1779. Further information can be found in the book by John Small (1864). Amongst Adam Ferguson’s published works are found: Essay on Civil Society (1766), Institutes of Moral Philosophy (1772) and History of the Roman Republic (1782).