Thomas Smibert
Thomas Smibert (1810–1854) was a Scottish journalist, writer and poet. Life. He was born on 8 February 1810 at Peebles, where his father, Thomas Smibert, a leather-merchant, was provost (1808–11); his mother's name was Janet Tait. Educated there, he was apprenticed to a druggist, and then qualified as a surgeon at Edinburgh University. Smibert set up as a surgeon at Innerleithen, near Peebles, but left after a year when faced by personal and business problems. From Peebles he contributed to "Chambers's Edinburgh Journal", of which he became sub-editor and editor between 1837 and 1842 . During that period he wrote for the periodical about 650 literary articles, tales, and biographical sketches. He was also a large contributor to Chambers's "Information for the People". In 1842 Smibert became sub-editor of "The Scotsman", but a legacy meant he shortly dropped journalism for literature. In his later years he was a frequent contributor to "Hogg's Instructor". He died at Edinburgh on 16 January 1854. Works. Smibert wrote: