Archibald, Earl and Marquis of Argyll, was the son of Archibald Earl of Argyll, by the Lady Anne Douglas, daughter of William Earl of Morton. He was born in the year 1598, and educated in the profession of the Protestant religion, according to the strictest rules of the church of Scotland, as it was established immediately after the reformation. During the commonwealth he was induced to submit to its authority. Upon the restoration he was tried for his compliance; a crime common to him with the whole nation, and such a one as the most loyal subject might frequently by violence be induced to commit. To make this compliance appear the more voluntary and hearty, there were produced in court letters which he had written to Monk while that general governed Scotland, and which contained expressions of the most cordial attachment to the established government. But besides the general indignation excited by Albemarle's discovery of this private correspondence, men thought, that even the highest demonstrations of affection might, during jealous times, be exacted as a necessary mark of compliance from a person of such distinction as Argyll, and could not, by any equitable construction, imply the crime of treason. The parliament, however, scrupled not to pass sentence upon him, and he suffered with great constancy and courage.

Campbell, Archibald, Earl of Argyll, son to the former, had from his youth distinguished himself by his loyalty and his attachment to the royal family. Though his father was head of the covenanters, he himself refused to Campbell concur in any of their measures; and when a commission of colonel was given him by the convention of states, he forbore to act upon it till it should be ratified by the king. By his respectful behaviour, as well as by his services, he made himself acceptable to Charles when that prince was in Scotland; and even after the battle of Worcester, all the misfortunes which attended the royal cause could not engage him to desert it. Under Middleton he obstinately persevered to harass and infest the victorious English; and it was not till he had received orders from that general, that he would submit to accept of a capitulation. Such jealousy of his loyal attachments was entertained by the commonwealth and protector, that a pretence was soon after fallen upon to commit him to prison; and his confinement was rigorously continued till the restoration. The king, sensible of his services, had remitted to him his father's forfeiture, and created him Earl of Argyll; and when a most unjust sentence was passed upon him by the Scotch parliament, Charles anew remitted it. In the subsequent part of this reign Argyll behaved himself dutifully; and though he seemed not disposed to go all lengths with the court, he always appeared, even in his opposition, a man of mild disposition and peaceable deportment.

A parliament was summoned at Edinburgh in summer 1681, and the Duke of York appointed commissioner. Besides granting money to the king, and voting the indefeasible right of succession, this parliament enacted a test which all persons holding offices, civil, military, or ecclesiastical, were bound to take; in which test the king's supremacy was asserted, the covenant renounced, passive obedience assented to, and all obligations disclaimed of endeavouring any alteration in civil or ecclesiastical establishments. But in addition to the test as prepared by the courtiers, the country party proposed also a clause of adherence to the Protestant religion, which could not with decency be rejected. The whole was of an enormous length, considered as an oath; and, what was worse, being voted in a hurry, it was found on examination to be a medley of absurdity and contradiction. Though the courtiers could not reject the clause of adherence to the Protestant religion, they proposed that all princes of the blood should be exempted from taking the oath; an exception which was zealously opposed by Argyll, who observed that the sole danger to the Protestant religion must proceed from the quarter where it was thus proposed to grant an exemption. By insisting on this topic he drew on himself the secret indignation of the Duke of York, of which he soon felt the fatal consequences.

When Argyll took the test as a privy counsellor, he joined, in the duke's presence, an explanation which he had previously communicated to that prince, and which he believed to have been approved by him. It was in these words—"I have considered the test, and am very desirous of giving obedience as far as I can. I am confident that the parliament never intended to impose contradictory oaths; therefore I think no man can explain it but for himself. Accordingly I take it as far as it is consistent with itself and the Protestant religion. And I do declare that I mean not to bind myself in my station, and in a lawful way, from wishing and endeavouring any alteration which I think to the advantage of church or state, and not repugnant to the Protestant religion and my loyalty; and this I understand as a part of my oath." The duke heard the qualification with tranquillity, and Argyll was admitted to sit that day in council; nor was it possible to imagine that a capital offence had been committed where occasion seemed not to have been given for so much as a frown or a reprimand. Argyll was therefore much surprised a few days afterwards to find that a warrant had Campbell been issued for committing him to prison; that he was indicted for high treason, leasing-making, and perjury; and that from the innocent words above mentioned an accusation had been extracted, by which he was to forfeit life, honours, and fortune. It is needless to enter into particulars where the iniquity of the whole is so apparent. Of five judges three did not scruple to find that the guilt of treason and leasing-making had been incurred by the prisoner; a jury of fifteen noblemen gave a verdict against him; and the king being consulted, ordered sentence to be pronounced, but the execution of it suspended till further orders. Argyll, however, saw no reason to trust to the justice or mercy of such enemies. He made his escape from prison, and, till he could find a ship for Holland, concealed himself during some time in London. All the parts of his sentence, however, as far as the government in Scotland had power, were rigorously executed; his estate was confiscated, and his arms were reversed and torn down. Having got over to Holland, he remained there during the remaining part of the reign of Charles II. But thinking himself at liberty, before the coronation of James II., to exert himself in order to recover the constitution by force of arms, he concerted measures with the Duke of Monmouth, and returned to Scotland to assemble his friends; but not meeting with the success which he expected, he was taken prisoner, and, being carried to Edinburgh, was beheaded upon his former unjust sentence, on the 30th June 1685. He showed great constancy and courage under his misfortunes. At the place of execution he made a short, grave, and religious speech; and, after solemnly declaring that he forgave all his enemies, submitted to death with heroic firmness.

Campbell, Archibald, first Duke of Argyll, son of the preceding, was an active promoter of the revolution. He came over with the Prince of Orange; was admitted into the convention as Earl of Argyll, though his father's attainder had not been reversed; and in the claim of rights the sentence against him was declared to be a reproach to the nation. The establishment of the crown upon the Prince and Princess of Orange being carried by a great majority in the Scottish Convention, the earl was sent from the nobility, with Sir James Montgomery and Sir John Dalrymple from the barons and burghs, to offer the crown, in name of the Convention, to their majesties, and to tender them the coronation oath; for which, and many other eminent services, he was admitted a member of the privy council, and, in 1690, made one of the lords of the treasury. He was afterwards made a colonel of the Scotch horse guards, and, in 1694, one of the extraordinary lords of session. He was likewise created Duke of Argyll, Marquis of Kintyre and Lorn, Earl of Campbell and Cowall, Viscount of Lochow and Glenisha, Lord Inverary, Mull, Morvern, and Terrey, by letters-patent, bearing date at Kensington the 23rd of June 1701. He sent over to Flanders for King William's service a regiment, the officers of which were chiefly of his own name and family, who bravely distinguished themselves throughout the whole course of the war. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Lionel Talman of Helmingham in the county of Suffolk, by Elizabeth, duchess of Lauderdale, his wife, daughter and heiress of William Murray, earl of Dysart, by whom he left issue two sons and a daughter.

Campbell, John, second Duke of Argyll, and also duke of Greenwich and baron of Chatham, son of the preceding, was born on the 10th of October 1680; and, on the very day when his grandfather suffered at Edinburgh, he fell out of a window three pair of stairs high without receiving any hurt. At the age of fifteen he had made considerable progress in classical learning. His father then perceiving his military disposition, encouraged it, and introduced him to King William, who appointed Campbell him to the command of a regiment. In this situation he remained till the death of his father in 1703, when becoming Duke of Argyll, he was soon afterwards sworn of Queen Anne's privy council, made captain of the Scotch horse guards, and appointed one of the extraordinary lords of session. In 1704, her majesty having revived the Scottish order of the thistle, his grace was installed as one of the knights of that order, and was soon afterwards appointed high commissioner to the Scotch parliament; and having been of great service in promoting the union, he was on his return created a peer of England, by the titles of Baron of Chatham and Earl of Greenwich, and, in 1710, was made knight of the garter. His grace first distinguished himself in his military capacity at the battle of Oudenarde, where he commanded as brigadier-general, with all the bravery of youth, and the conduct of a veteran officer. He was present under the Duke of Marlborough at the siege of Ghent, and took possession of the town. He had also a considerable share in the victory obtained over the French at the battle of Malplaquet, by dislodging them from the wood of Sart, and gaining a post of great consequence. In this sharp engagement several musket-balls passed through the duke's clothes, hat, and periuke. Soon after the action he was sent to take the command in Spain; but on the reduction of Port Mahon he returned to England. His grace having now a seat in the House of Lords, he censured the measures of the ministry with such freedom, that all his places were disposed of to other noblemen; but at the accession of George I., he recovered his influence. On the breaking out of the rebellion in 1715 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the forces in North Britain, and was principally instrumental in effecting the total extinction of the rebellion in Scotland, without much bloodshed. He arrived in London early in March 1716, and was at first in high favour; but, to the surprise of people of all ranks, he was in a few months divested of his employments; and from this period to the year 1718 he signalized himself in a civil capacity, by his incorruptible patriotism and manly eloquence. In the beginning of the year 1719 he was again admitted into favour, appointed lord-steward of the household, and in April following created Duke of Greenwich. He continued in the administration during the remaining part of that reign, and, after the accession of George II., till April 1740, when he delivered a speech with such warmth, that the ministry being highly offended, he was again dismissed from his employments. To these, however, on the change of the ministry, he was soon restored; but not approving of the measures of the new administration any more than those of the old, he gave up all his posts for the last time, and never afterwards engaged in affairs of state. He now enjoyed privacy and retirement; and died of a paralytic disorder on the 4th of October 1743. To the memory of his grace a noble monument was erected in Westminster Abbey, executed by Roubillac.

Campbell, Archibald, third Duke of Argyll, brother of the preceding, was born at Hamhouse, in England, in June 1682, and was educated at the University of Glasgow. He afterwards applied himself to the study of the civil law at Utrecht; but, upon his father's being created a duke, he betook himself to a military life, and served some time under the Duke of Marlborough. Upon quitting the army, in which he did not remain long, he applied to the acquisition of the knowledge calculated to enable him to perform a part in the political world. In 1705 he was appointed treasurer of Scotland, and made a considerable figure in parliament, though he was not more than twenty-three years of age. In 1706 he was appointed one of the commissioners for treating of the union; and in the Campbell, same year he was created Lord Oronsay, Dunoon, and Ar- rois, Viscount and Earl of Isla. In 1708 he was made an extraordinary lord of session; and when the union had been effected, he was chosen one of the sixteen peers for Scotland in the first parliament of Great Britain, and was elected to every future parliament, except the fourth, till his death. In 1710 he was appointed justice-general of Scotland. In 1711 he was called to the privy council; and upon the accession of George I. he was nominated lord register of Scotland. When the rebellion broke out in 1715, he again betook himself to arms, in defence of the house of Hanover, and by his prudent conduct in the West Highlands, he prevented General Gordon, at the head of three thousand men, from penetrating into the country and raising levies. He afterwards joined his brother at Stirling, and was wounded at the battle of Dumblane or Sheriffmuir. He was appointed keeper of the privy seal in 1725, and from this time he was intrusted with the management of Scottish affairs. In 1734, upon his re- signing the privy seal, he was made keeper of the great seal, which office he enjoyed till his death. Upon the decease of his brother, he became Duke of Argyll, here- ditary justice-general, lieutenant, sheriff, and commissary of Argyleshire and the Western Isles, hereditary great master of the household, and hereditary keeper of Dun- staffnage, Carrick, and several other castles. He was also chancellor of the University of Aberdeen, and laboured to promote the interest of that, as well as of the other universities of Scotland. It was by his advice that, after the rebellion in 1746, the Highlanders were employed in the royal army. He was a man of great endowments, both natural and acquired, and possessed considerable parliamentary abilities. He was likewise eminent for his literary accomplishments, and had collected one of the most valuable private libraries in Great Britain. The fa- culties of his mind continued unimpaired till his death, which happened suddenly on the 15th of April 1761, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. He was married, but had no issue; and was succeeded in his titles and estates by John Campbell, fourth Duke of Argyll, son of the honourable John Campbell of Mammore, the second son of Archibald the ninth Earl of Argyll. The family of Ar- gyll were heritable justices-general for Scotland till the office was abolished by the jurisdiction act. They are still heritable masters of the king's household in Scotland, and keepers of Dunstaffnage and Carrick.

Campbell, John, an eminent historical, biographical, and political writer, was born at Edinburgh on the 8th March 1708. His father, Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, was captain of horse in a regiment commanded by the then Earl of Hyndford; and his mother, Elizabeth, daugh- ter of Mr Smith of Windsor in Berkshire, had the honour of claiming a descent from the poet Waller. John, their fourth son, when five years old, was carried from Scot- land to Windsor, where he received the rudiments of his education; and at a proper age he was placed as clerk to an attorney, being intended for the law. This pro- fession, however, he never followed; but by a close ap- plication to the acquisition of knowledge of various kinds, he became qualified to appear with advantage in the lite- rary world. In 1736, before he had completed his thir- tieth year, he gave to the public, in two volumes folio, the Military History of Prince Eugene and the Duke of Marl- borough, enriched with maps, plans, and cuts. From the reputation which he thus acquired, he was soon afterwards solicited to take part in the Ancient Universal History. But whilst employed in this capital work, Mr Campbell found leisure to entertain the world with other produc- tions. In 1739 he published the Travels and Adventures of Edward Brown, Esq. Svo. In the same year appeared his Memoirs of the Basque Duke de Ripperda, Svo, re- printed, with improvements, in 1740. These memoirs were followed, in 1741, by the Concise History of Spanish America, Svo. In 1742 he published a letter to a friend in the country, on the publication of Thurloe's State Pa- pers; giving an account of their discovery, importance, and utility. The same year was distinguished by the ap- pearance of the first and second volumes of his Lives of the English Admirals, and other eminent British Seamen. The two remaining volumes were completed in 1744; and not long afterwards the whole was translated into German. This was the first of Mr Campbell's works to which he prefixed his name, and it is a performance of great and acknowledged merit. In 1743 he published Hernippus Revived; a second edition of which, much improved and enlarged, came out in 1749, under the title of Hernippus Radiatus, or the Sage's Triumph over Old Age and the Grave. This tract had its origin in a foreign publication, but it was much improved by the ingenuity and learning of Mr Campbell. In 1744 he gave to the public, in two volumes folio, his Voyages and Travels, on Dr Harris's plan, being an improvement of that collection which had appeared in 1706. The time and care employed by Mr Campbell in this important undertaking did not prevent his engaging in another great work, the Biographia Britannica, which began to be published in weekly numbers in 1745, and ex- tended to seven volumes folio; but our author's articles were confined to the first four volumes, of which, Dr Kip- pis observes, they constitute the prime merit.

When Mr Dodsley formed the design of The Preceptor, which appeared in 1748, Mr Campbell was engaged to as- sist in the undertaking; and the parts written by him were the Introduction to Chronology, and the Discourse on Trade and Commerce, both of which displayed an ex- tensive fund of knowledge upon these subjects. In 1750 he published the first separate edition of his Present State of Europe; a work which had been originally begun in 1746, in the Museum, a very valuable periodical perfor- mance, printed for Dodsley. There is no production of our author's which has met with a better reception. It passed through six editions, and fully deserved this en- couragement. The next undertaking which called for the exertion of our author's abilities and learning, was The Modern Universal History. This extensive work was published, from time to time, in detached parts, till it amounted to sixteen volumes folio; and a second edition, in octavo, began to make its appearance in the year 1759. The parts of it written by Mr Campbell were, the histories of the Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish, French, Swedish, Dan- ish, and Ostend Settlements in the East Indies; and the histories of the kingdoms of Spain, Portugal, Algarve, Navarre, and that of France, from the time of Clovis till 1656. Our author having thus distinguished himself in the literary world, the degree of LL.D. was conferred up- on him by the university of Glasgow, on the 18th June 1784.

His principal and favourite production was, A Political Survey of Great Britain, in two volumes 4to, published a short time before his death; a work in which the extent of his knowledge, and the ardour of his patriotic spirit, are equally conspicuous. Dr Campbell's reputation was not confined to his own country, but extended to the remotest parts of Europe. As an instance of this, it may be men- tioned, that in the spring of 1774, the empress of Russia was pleased to honour him with the present of her picture, drawn in the robes worn in that country in the days of John Bassiliowitz, grand duke of Muscovy, who was con- temporary with Queen Elizabeth.

In 1736 Dr Campbell married Elizabeth, daughter of Mr Benjamin Vobe, of Leominster, in the county of Here- Campbell, with whom he lived nearly forty years in the greatest conjugal harmony and happiness. So wholly did he dedicate his time to books, that he seldom went abroad; but to relieve himself as much as possible from the inconveniences incident to a sedentary life, it was his custom, when the weather permitted, to walk in his garden, or in some room of his house, by way of exercise. By this method, united with the strictest temperance in eating, and an equal abstinence in drinking, he enjoyed good health, though his constitution was delicate. His domestic manner of life did not prevent him from cultivating an extensive and honourable acquaintance. His house, especially on a Sunday evening, was the resort of the most distinguished persons of all ranks, and particularly of those who had rendered themselves eminent by their knowledge or love of literature. He received foreigners who were fond of learning with an affability and kindness which excited in them the highest respect and veneration; and his instructive and cheerful conversation made him the delight of his friends. During the latter part of his life he was agent for the province of Georgia in North America, and he died at the close of the year 1775, in the sixty-seventh year of his age. Dr Campbell's literary knowledge was by no means confined to the subjects which he more particularly treated of as an author. He was well acquainted with the mathematics, and had read much in medicine. He was eminently versed in the different parts of sacred literature, and his acquaintance with the languages extended not only to Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, among the ancient, and to French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch, among the modern; but likewise to the oriental tongues. He was particularly fond of the Greek language. His attainment of such a variety of knowledge was exceedingly assisted by a memory surprisingly retentive, and which indeed astonished every person with whom he was acquainted. In communicating his ideas, he had an uncommon readiness and facility; and the style of his works, which had been formed upon the model of that of the celebrated Bishop Sprat, was perspicuous, easy, flowing, and harmonious. To all these accomplishments of the understanding Dr Campbell joined the more important virtues of a moral and pious character. His disposition was gentle and humane, and his manners kind and obliging. He was a tender husband, an indulgent parent, a kind master, a firm and sincere friend. To his Creator he paid the constant and sincere tribute of devotion and reverence; and in his correspondence he showed that a sense of piety was always nearest his heart.

Campbell, George, D.D., a distinguished theologian and philosopher, was born at Aberdeen in December 1719. He was educated at the grammar school of that town; and being intended for the profession of the law, he was bound as an apprentice to a writer or clerk to the signet. The love of study, however, prevailed over all opposition. In 1741 he attended divinity lectures at Edinburgh before the term of his apprenticeship had expired, and soon afterwards he became a regular student in the university of Aberdeen, attending the lectures of Professor Lumden in King's, and Professor Chalmers in Marischal College. In 1746 he was licensed to preach by the presbytery of Aberdeen. In 1748 he obtained the living of Banchory Teran, in which situation he married, and was fortunate in possessing a lady remarkable for the sagacity of her understanding, the integrity of her heart, the general propriety of her conduct, and her skill in the management of domestic affairs. Mutual happiness was the consequence of this union, which was not terminated till her death in 1792. In 1757 he was translated to Aberdeen, to be one of the ministers of that town; and in 1759 he was presented to the office of principal of Marischal College.

Mr Hume's Treatise on Miracles gave the new principal an opportunity of evincing that he was not unworthy of this office. He opposed it in a sermon preached before the provincial synod of Aberdeen in 1760, which he was requested to publish; but he preferred the form of a dissertation, and in that state sent the manuscript to Dr Blair, to be by him communicated to Mr Hume. Availing himself of the remarks of his friends, and of his opponent, he gave it to the world in 1763, with a dedication to Lord Bute; but however desirable the patronage of the minister might in other respects be, it proved of very little assistance in giving circulation, in the literary world, to an essay which, from the favourable impressions of Blair and Hume, was eagerly read and universally admired.

In 1771 he was elected professor of divinity in Marischal College, upon which he resigned his office as one of the ministers of Aberdeen; but as minister of Grayfriars, an office conjoined to the professorship about a century previous to this, he was obliged to preach once every Sunday in one of the established churches. Few persons seem to have entertained truer notions of the office of a teacher in an university than the new professor; and the plan he had in view, on entering upon his lectures, though expressed in rather too strong language, may be recommended to every one who undertakes a similar employment.

"The nature of my office," said he, in addressing his pupils, "has been much misunderstood. It is supposed that I am to teach you everything connected with the study of divinity. I tell you honestly, that I am to teach you nothing. Ye are not school-boys. Ye are young men, who have finished your courses of philosophy, and ye are no longer to be treated as if ye were at school. Therefore, I repeat it, I am to teach you nothing; but, by the grace of God, I will assist you to teach yourselves everything."

In 1771 he published his excellent sermon on the Spirit of the Gospel; and, in 1776, appeared his Philosophy of Rhetoric. In this latter year, also, he acquired the friendship of Dr Tucker, by a sermon, then much admired, and very generally read, on the Duty of Allegiance, in which he endeavoured to show that the British colonies in America had no right, either from reason or from Scripture, to throw off their allegiance; and employed those vulgar arguments which, as being purely political, and more especially adapted to the sentiments of the majority of that day, were very improper topics for the pulpit. In 1777 he chose a better subject for a discourse, which he published at the request of the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, and in which the success of the first publishers of the gospel is ably treated as a proof of its truth. In 1770, when many of his countrymen, led away by an excess of enthusiasm and fanaticism, were rushing headlong into the antichristian practice of persecution, he published a seasonable address to the people of Scotland, on the alarms which had been raised by the bill in favour of the Roman Catholics. In the same year, also, he published a sermon on the influence of religion on civil society. The last work which he lived to bring before the public was his translation of the Four Gospels, with preliminary dissertations and explanatory notes, of which it is unnecessary to say anything further in this place than that it is worthy of his talents and character.

In 1795 he resigned his professorship; and soon afterwards he also resigned the principality, on a pension of £300 a year being conferred on him by government. But this pension he possessed for a very short time; for on the 31st of March 1796 his last illness seized him, and on the next morning it was followed by a paroxysm of palsy. which destroyed the power of speech, and under this deprivation he languished till his death. His funeral sermon was preached on the 17th of April by Dr Brown, who had succeeded him in the offices of principal and professor.