William Livingston

The poet William Livingston (1808–1870) was a Scottish Gaelic poet from Bowmore, Islay and important figure in 19th-century Scottish Gaelic literature. Life Livingstone was born upon the farm of Gartmain, near Bowmore in Islay in the Scottish Gàidhealtachd in 1808. A passionate autodidact, he was a tailor by trade, yet he taught himself the Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French and Welsh languages. During his travels through the Scottish lowlands, Livingstone collected an extensive knowledge of the Scottish nation's topography, place-names and folklore. He lived and worked in multiple locations, including Greenock, before eventually settling in Tradestown, Glasgow. Writing Livingston was a hyper patriotic Scottish nationalist, propagandist for the Gaelic language, war poet, and author of epic poetry.