James Bremner Allan Dow was born in Edinburgh on 16 April 1938 . His father, James Bremner Dow, was deputy General Manager (and later General Manager) of Standard Life Assurance Co in Edinburgh. Prior to attending university, James was a student at George Watson's College, Edinburgh, and the Lycee Henri IV in Paris, France. James attended the University of St Andrews and graduated in 1959 with second class honours and a prize in Medieval History. After working briefly as a sub-editor in a Glasgow publishing house, he went to Germany and Sweden with the British Council. In 1961, he was awarded a Ross Fellowship to investigate primary sources for the study of relations between Scotland and Sweden. In October 1962, he was permitted to matriculate as a research student at the University of Glasgow working towards a PhD on The Relations of Scotland and Sweden 1500-1625 . In 1963 he was appointed Assistant in the Economic History department at the University of Glasgow and in 1965 was promoted to Lecturer. His publications include Ruthven's Army in Sweden and Esthonia, (1965) and Source Book of Scottish Economic and Social History with R H Campbell, (1968). He died in Glasgow on 20 April 1965.
From the guide to the Papers of James Bremner Allan Dow, 1938-1965, lecturer in Economic History, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1961-1965, (Glasgow University Archive Services)
