Ogilvie, John

(1733-1813)

   Scottish poet born in Aberdeen, the son of a Presbyterian minister. When he graduated from Aberdeen University he, too, became a minister, in 1759 of Midmar, Aberdeenshire, where he remained until his death. He was made doctor of divinity by Aberdeen University in 1766 and was one of the committee for the revision of the Scottish Translations and Paraphrases (1775). He was a member of the Edinburgh Royal Society. Two of his hymns are "Begin, My Soul, the Exalted Lay" and "Lo, in the Last of Days Behold." He married in January 1771, had a family, and died at Aberdeen. His poems are long and show learning rather than poetic charm. His poetry publications: The Day of Judgment, 1753. Poems on Several Subjects, with Essay on Lyric Poetry, 1762. Providence: an Allegorical Poem, 1764. Solitude, or the Elysium of the Poets, 1765. Paradise, 1769. Rona: A Poem in Seven Books, with Map of the Hebrides, 1777. Britannia: A National Epic Poem in Twenty Books, 1801.

   Sources: Begin, My Soul, the Exalted Lay: Metrical Version of Psalm 148, by John Ogilvie (http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/b/b048.html). Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition, 1.1.