John Knox (1720 - 1790) was a Scottish bookseller and philanthropist.
After spending many years as a bookseller in the Strand in London, Knox retired with a large fortune. In 1764 he began travelling extensively through his native Scotland, making sixteen tours between 1764 and 1775 alone. He became concerned with the poverty he found there and eventually wrote a number of works projecting improvements. In 1784 he published A View of the British Empire, more especially Scotland, with some Proposals for the Improvement of that Country, the Extension of its Fisheries, and the Relief of the People. In 1785 a third edition, enlarged to two volumes, was published. In this work he proposed, among other improvements, canals between the Forth and ClJohn Knox (1720 - 1790) was a Scottish bookseller and philanthropist.
After spending many years as a bookseller in the Strand in London, Knox retired with a large fortune. In 1764 he began travelling extensively through his native Scotland, making sixteen tours between 1764 and 1775 alone. He became concerned with the poverty he found there and eventually wrote a number of works projecting improvements. In 1784 he published A View of the British Empire, more especially Scotland, with some Proposals for the Improvement of that Country, the Extension of its Fisheries, and the Relief of the People. In 1785 a third edition, enlarged to two volumes, was published. In this work he proposed, among other improvements, canals between the Forth and Clyde, between Loch Fyne and the Atlantic, and between Fort William and Inverness, all of which were later built. A lecture he gave to the Highland Society of London was subsequently published as A discourse on the expediency of establishing fishing stations: or small towns, in the Highlands of Scotland and the Hebride Islands (1786). In this work he proposed the creation of as many as 50 fishing villages in the Highlands, to be built by private funds....more
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