WILSON, Alexander, American ornitholo gist: b. Paisley, Scotland, 6 July 1766; d. Phila delphia, Pa., 23 Aug. 1813. In his 13th year he was apprenticed to a weaver, but after seven years abandoned the loom and adopted the life of a peddler. Three years were thus spent and in 1789, having already prepared a volume of poems for publication, he offered his muslins and solicited subscriptions for this work. It was published in 1790, hut had little success; and he again returned to the loom. In 1792 he published ‘Watty and Meg,' which, having ap peared anonymously, was ascribed to Burns, though the style is very different. It is said to have had a sale of 100,000 copies in a few weeks. Having written a severe satire upon a person in Paisley, 1Vilson was thrown into prison, and was afterward compelled to burn the libel with his own hand at Paisley Cross. Upon his release he came to this country, arriv ing at Newcastle, Del., in 1794. He again re sumed his former trade, but soon turned to schoolmaster, acting in this capacity in several places in Pennsylvania. While thus engaged at Kingsessing near Philadelphia, he became ac quainted with William Bartram, the naturalist, and Alexander Lawson, an engraver, whose tastes and instructions stimulated his own talents. He had already undertaken long ex cursions for making ornithological researches, and devoted much time to the study, when he was engaged, in 1806, to assist in editing the Amercian edition of Rees's Cyclopedia, and now began to prepare for the publication of his 'American Ornithology,' the first volume ap raring in 1808, and the seventh in 1813. The interval had been passed in exploring different parts of the country for the purpose of extend ing his observations, collecting specimens, and watching the habits of birds in their native haunts In 1813 the literary materials for the e;chth volume of the 'Ornithology' were ready, but its progress was greatly retarded for want of proper assistants to color the plates. Wilson
therefore, obliged to undertake the whole of ;his department himself, in addition to his other duties; and these multifarious labors so,ai exhausted his strength and brought about his death All the plates for the remainder of the ' Rsftrfc 1,ten completed under c•e the lett,r-pre— of the ninth 11, friend, f•eoro- Ord, his to sr T hi• expedition., 010 also wrote a memoir of Wilson to accompany the last volume, and edited the eighth Four supplementary volumes, containing American birds not described by Wilson, were published by Charles Lucien Bonaparte (1f5-33) An edition of the original work, with Bonaparte's continuation, and notes and life of Wilson 1.. Sir William Jardine, was published in London in 1832. Wilson continued to write poetry after leaving Scotland, one of his chief productions being 'The Foresters,' a poem describing a pedestrian tour to the Falls of Niagara. and several collective editions of his poems base appeared. A bronze statue of Wilson has been erected at Paisley. Consult 'Life of Wilson,' by Peabody, in Sparks' 'Library of American Biography' (1834-56); Brightwell, 'Difficulties Overcome: Scenes in the Life of Alexander \Vilson' (1860); Paton, 'Alexander Wilson, the Ornithologist' (1863); 'Leading Men of So ence' (New York 1910).