James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount of Stair

James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount Stair (May 1619 – 29 November 1695) was a Scottish lawyer and statesman, and a key influence on the Scottish Enlightenment. He was a leading figure of Scottish law, "and also one of the greatest thinkers on law across Europe has ever produced".^[1]

According to Alexander Broadie, Professor of Logic and Rhetoric at Glasgow University, in his book The Scottish Enlightenment, the first Scottish enlightenment began Post Reformation in the 15th century, with figures such as John Mair (1467-1550), James Dalrymple (1619-1695), Duns Scotus (1265-1308), George Buchanan (1506-1582) and many others. These scholars were predominately educated at Paris university and then returned to teach at Scotland’s ancient universities – St Andrews, Aberdeen, and Glasgow. "Dalrymple graduated from Glasgow university in 1647 and was regent in arts there from 1641 until 1647. The following year he became an advocate and thereafter was appointed a judge. From 1661 Dalrymple, by now Viscount Stair, was active in the Court of Session and sat on many commissions through which he was connected to important moments in Scottish history."

Broadie writes, "Above all, however, the reason Stair is important to Scotland is his treatise, The institutions of the law of Scotland, deduced from its originals, and collated with the civil, canon and feudal laws; and with the customs of neighbouring nations ... . 1st edition Edinburgh, 1681. This book set the practice of law in Scotland on a sound philosophical basis, almost certainly helped to ensure that Scots law would remain in force as a distinct entity after the union of 1707".^[1]

The University of Glasgow’s Law School is housed in The Stair Building, built in 1870 by Sir Gilbert Scott, named after Stair. He also gave his name to The Stair Memorial Encyclopedia, described as, "the cornerstone of the Scots lawyer's library."