David Herd (anthologist)

David Herd (1732–1810) was a Scottish anthologist who was a noted collector of national ballads.

Biography

The son of a farmer in the parish of Marykirk in Kincardineshire, he became clerk to an accountant in Edinburgh, where he became a well-known figure among the literary men. He devoted his leisure to collecting old Scottish poems and songs, which he first published in 1769 as Ancient Scottish Songs, Heroic Ballads, etc. Other and enlarged editions appeared in 1776 and 1791. Sir Walter Scott made use of his manuscript collections in his Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border.

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainfrom the entry "Herd, David" in: Cousin, John William (1910). A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London, J. M. Dent & Sons; New York, E. P. Dutton.
•  "Herd, David". New International Encyclopedia. 1905. 

Persondata
Name	Herd, David
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Short description
Date of birth	1732
Place of birth
Date of death	1810
Place of death