Dugald Stewart Monument – Calton Hill, Edinburgh

 

Dugald Stewart Monument on Calton Hill, in Edinburgh

View from Calton Hill in Edinburgh, with the Dugald Stewart Monument in the foreground, and Edinburgh Castle, the Balmoral Hotel (and clock tower), and the Scott monument in the background.

The Dugald Stewart Monument is a memorial to the Scottish philosopher and mathematician, who is best known for popularising the Scottish Enlightenment. The Scottish Enlightenment or Enlichtenment, was a period in 18th and early 19th century Scotland that was characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments.

Dugald Stewart (1753-1828) was a professor at the University of Edinburgh, holding the chair of moral philosophy from 1786 until his death in June 1828. Among Stewart’s pupils were Lord Palmerston, Sir Walter Scott, Francis Jeffrey, Henry Thomas Cockburn, Francis Horner, Sydney Smith, John William Ward, Lord Brougham, Dr. Thomas Brown, James Mill, Sir James Mackintosh and Sir Archibald Alison, all of whom were to become leading figures in their respective fields, not just in Scotland, but throughout the world.

Following his death, the Royal Society of Edinburgh commissioned the building of the monument, which was completed in Aug 1831.