David Booth (1776 - 1846) was a Scottish autodidact and polymath who became Superintendent for Publications of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, and published books under their auspices on brewing, grammar, composition and economics. He also compiled an analytical dictionary. He worked as a brewer in Newburgh in Fife before turning to literary pursuits and teaching. He was a member of the Glasite Church.
Booth met the writer William Godwin in December 1902 and in 1809 he introduced him to the radical sailmaker William Thomas Baxter. It was this introduction which led to the teenage Mary Godwin going to stay with the Baxter family in Dundee between 1812 and 1814.
On 17 July 1808, Booth married Baxter's eldest daughter, MargarDavid Booth (1776 - 1846) was a Scottish autodidact and polymath who became Superintendent for Publications of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, and published books under their auspices on brewing, grammar, composition and economics. He also compiled an analytical dictionary. He worked as a brewer in Newburgh in Fife before turning to literary pursuits and teaching. He was a member of the Glasite Church.
Booth met the writer William Godwin in December 1902 and in 1809 he introduced him to the radical sailmaker William Thomas Baxter. It was this introduction which led to the teenage Mary Godwin going to stay with the Baxter family in Dundee between 1812 and 1814.
On 17 July 1808, Booth married Baxter's eldest daughter, Margaret. After Margaret died in 1814, he married her younger sister, Isabella. The couple were excommunicated from the Glasite Church as a result. Booth forbad further contact between his wife and Mary Godwin after she eloped with Percy Bysshe Shelley.
In 1823, Booth wrote A Letter to the Rev. T.R. Malthus, MAFRS: Being an Answer to the Criticism on Mr. Godwin's Work on Population which was published in The Edinburgh Review...more
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