John Clerk of Eldin (1728 – 1812)

• Was a Scottish merchant, author, artist, geologist and landowner.
• The 7th son of Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, Bt.
• Clerk of Eldin was a figure in the Scottish Enlightenment, best remembered for his influential writings on naval tactics in the Age of Sail.
• Clerk made his fortune as a merchant and manager of a coal mine, and in 1763 he was able to buy himself the property of Eldin, in Lasswade, near Edinburgh.
• There, he devoted himself to science and art.
• In 1753 being a close friend to the renowned architect Robert Adam, he married Susannah Adam, Robert's younger sister by whom he had seven children.
• In 1783 he was a founder member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
• By 1793, Clerk had retired, but still moved between Eldin and Edinburgh.
• He died peacefully at Eldin on 10 May 1812, surrounded by his family.
• The displayed painting is a crop from James Saxon, John Clerk of Eldin. Author of Essay on Naval Tactics, circa 1805. 
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