Minto was born at Nether Auchintoul, nearAlford, Aberdeenshire. He was son of James Minto, a farmer, and his wife Barbara Copland.[1]
He was educated at theUniversity of Aberdeen, graduating as an M.A. in 1865 and "winning the leading prizes in mathematics, classics and philosophy".[2] In 1866 he began studying atMerton College, Oxford, but left the following year without taking a degree.
He became assistant professor underAlexander Bain, who held theRegius Chair ofLogic and the Regius Chair ofEnglish Literature at the University of Aberdeen. During this period he wrote the book,Manual of English Prose Literature, Biographical and Critical, which was published in 1872 and which was "distinguished by sound judgment and sympathetic appreciation".[3]
In 1873 Minto moved to London and from 1874 to 1878 he contributed literary and political articles toThe Examiner, and later he was on the leader-writing staff ofThe Daily News andThe Pall Mall Gazette. During this period Minto "was considered to be an able and pungent critic ofLord Beaconsfield's imperial policies".[2]
In 1880 Bain retired and Minto succeeded him as Regius Professor of Logic and English Literature at Aberdeen, a post he held until his death. "Though Logic and Rhetoric had long been combined in a single Chair at the Scottish universities, Minto's occupancy of the Chair was marked by a much great[er] [sic] emphasis on the study and teaching of literature than logic."[4]
English Literature under the Georges (1894); republished, with a biographical introduction by William Knight, asThe Literature of the Georgian Era (1895).[5]
On 8 January 1880 Minto married Cornelia Beatrice, daughter of the Rev. Lewis Griffiths, rector ofSwindon, Gloucestershire.[12] His health began to decline in 1891. A trip to Greece gave him some respite but he died of his ailments on 1 March 1893.
He had two sons, William and Charles. On 2 July 1919 the elder son, Lt. Col. William Bain Griffiths Minto, "died of injuries received while firing [a] peace salute at Aberdeen".[13][14]
^abTrevor Royle,The Mainstream Companion to Scottish Literature, London: The Macmillan Press, 1983; republished as an ebook by Mainstream Publishing Company (Edinburgh) Ltd., 1993, "Minto, William" entry.
^William Minto 1845–1893, International Association for Scottish Philosophy, scottishphilosophy.org. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
^William Minto,The Literature of the Georgian Era, New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1895; published online on archive.org. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
^Authors: Minto, William,Science Fiction Encyclopedia, sf-encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
^Scott: Lady of the Lake, edited with a preface and notes by W. Minto, M.A. With a map of Scott's Lake District. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1891 (Clarendon Press Series).
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Minto, William".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 564.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: "Minto, William".Dictionary of National Biography. London:Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
