Colin Campbell of Achnaba

Colin Campbell, the son of Patrick (Dubh Beg) Campbell of Innerzeldies, ancestor of the Barcaldine family, was born in 1644. He was educated at St. Salvator's College, St. Andrews, graduating on 27 July 1661. Thereafter he may have studied at one of the English universities either as a companion or tutor to his relative, Robert of Glenorchy (Sir Robert Campbell of Glenorchy) an ancestor of the marquises of Breadalbane. In 1666 or 1667 he was admitted as minister of the Parish Church of Ardchattan and Muckairn in Lorne. On 12 January 1676 he was suspended from the ministry on a charge of pre-nuptial intercourse but was restored 25 June 1676. In addition to carrying out his professional duties, Campbell had a deep interest in mathematics and astronomy and was a correspondent of Sir Isaac Newton. Indeed, the Dictionary of National Biography (1908) tells us that in a letter to James Gregory, Professor of Mathematics at Edinburgh and formerly of St. Andrews, Newton had said of Campbell, 'he would make children of us all'. From his father, Campbell inherited the farm of Drimvuick in the parish, but exchanged these for the farm of Achnaba. Campbell died 13 March 1726.

From the guide to the Colin Campbell Collection, 1553-1836, (Edinburgh University Library)