John Hill Burton, a Scottish author, born in Aberdeen, Aug. 22,1809. He was educated at Marischal college, Aberdeen, and began the practice of law, which he soon abandoned for literature. To the " Westminster Review," and afterward to the " Edinburgh Review," he contributed articles on law, history, and political economy, and to " Blackwood's Magazine " literary sketches, several of which have been collected under the title of "The Scot Abroad" (1864). He has published the "Life and Correspondence of David Hume " (2 vols., 1846); "Lives of Simon Lord Lovat, and Duncan Forbes of Culloden" (1847); "Political and Social Economy " (1849); "Narratives from the Criminal Trials of Scotland " (1852); " Manual of the Law of Scotland;" " Treatise on the Law of Bankruptcy;" "History of Scotland from the Revolution to the Extinction of the last Jacobite Insurrection" (1853); " History of Scotland from Agricola's Invasion to the Revolution of 1688" (7 vols. 8vo, 1867-'70); and " The Bookhunter " (1869). He aided Sir John Bow ring in editing the works of Jeremy Ben-tham, for which he furnished the introduction, and afterward wrote a volume of " Benthami-ana," In 1854 he was appointed secretary to the prison board of Scotland, and upon the transfer of the functions of the board to the home office, he was continued as manager and secretary; and in 1868 he was appointed to report annually to parliament the judicial statistics of Scotland. In this year he also became historiographer royal for Scotland.