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Alexander Laing

1787 – 1857

Scottish verse writer

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About Alexander Laing

Lived 1787 – 1857 (aged 69–70). Alexander Laing was a poet.

Alexander Laing (1787–1857) was a Scottish verse writer, known as the Brechin poet.

Life Laing was born at Brechin, Angus, 14 May 1787; his father was an agricultural labourer. Laing spent only two winters at school, and when eight years old became a herdsman. At the age 16 he was apprenticed to a flax-dresser, and followed this occupation for fourteen years, when an accident permanently disabled him.

Laing afterwards earned a living as a pedlar, and died at Brechin, 14 October 1857.

Works Laing wrote in Lallans, and contributed to local newspapers and to the following poetical miscellanies:

The Harp of Renfrewshire, 1819; John Struthers's The Harp of Caledonia, 1819; Robert Archibald Smith's The Scotish Minstrel, 1820; Alexander Whitelaw's Book of Scottish Song, 1844; and Whistle Binkie, 1832–47.

Laing also furnished anecdotes to the Scottish story-book The Laird of Logan, 1835. In 1846 he published a collection of his poetry under the title Wayside Flowers, of which a second edition appeared in 1850. He edited popular editions of Robert Burns and Robert Tannahill, supplied notes to Allan Cunningham's Scottish Songs, 1825, and biographical notices to the Angus Album, 1833.

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Important facts

Born
1787
Birth century
Died
1857
Occupation
Also known as
The Brechin poet

People in Alexander Laing's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Alexander Laing's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Alexander Laing?

Scottish verse writer

When was Alexander Laing born?

Alexander Laing was born in 1787.

When did Alexander Laing die?

Alexander Laing died in 1857.

What was Alexander Laing's occupation?

Alexander Laing was a poet.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Alexander Laing

· Wikidata: Q17478943

· DBpedia: Alexander Laing (Scottish poet)

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Alexander Laing. https://biography.guide/alexander-laing/

MLA: "Alexander Laing." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/alexander-laing/.

Chicago: "Alexander Laing." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/alexander-laing/.

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