Alexander Chalmers

Alexander Chalmers (29 March 1759 – 29 December 1834) was a Scottish writer.

He was born in Aberdeen. Trained as a doctor, he gave up medicine for journalism, and was for some time editor of the Morning Herald. Besides editions of the works of William Shakespeare, James Beattie, Henry Fielding, Samuel Johnson, Joseph Warton, Alexander Pope, Edward Gibbon, and Henry St John, Viscount Bolingbroke, he published A General Biographical Dictionary in 32 volumes (1812–1817); a Glossary to Shakspeare (1807); an edition of George Steevens's Shakespeare (1809); and the British Essayists, beginning with the Tatler and ending with the Observer, with biographical and historical prefaces and a general index.

A quotation is often attributed to him: "The three grand essentials of happiness are: Something to do, someone to love, and something to hope for."^[1]

His papers are held at the National Library of Scotland.^[2]

References

1. ^ On other sites and resources, this quote has been credited to an "Allan K. Chalmers". This quote has also, however, been attributed to Joseph Addison, who lived from 1672-1719.
2. ^ Archival material relating to Alexander Chalmers listed at the UK National Register of Archives

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links

• Works by or about Alexander Chalmers in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

Persondata
Name	Chalmers, Alexander
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	29 March 1759
Place of birth
Date of death	29 December 1834
Place of death