Douglas Young

Who was Douglas Young?

Professor Douglas Young; June 5, 1913 – October 23, 1973) was a Scottish poet, scholar, and translator. He was the leader of the Scottish National Party from 1942 to 1945.

Young was born in Tayport, Fife. His father was employed in India by a Dundee jute firm, but insisted that his pregnant wife return home to give birth to their son in Scotland. However, shortly after his birth in Fife, the infant Douglas Young was taken to India with his mother, where he spent the early part of his childhood, before the family returned to Scotland.

From the age of eight Young attended Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh, where he developed a deep interest in history and the classics. He later studied at the University of St Andrews and New College, Oxford, before being appointed as Lecturer in Greek at the University of Aberdeen in 1938. He later taught at the universities of Dundee and St Andrews. Douglas Young possessed a range of talents over a wide array of subjects and was recognized as a Polymath *

In 1938 Douglas Young joined the Scottish National Party and served as leader 1942 to 1945. Christian Kopff wrote an article called "A Free-Minded Scot" which is a biography of Douglas Young focussing on his efforts to test whether the Act of Union could force Scots to serve in the British Military outside the British Isles. Young's activities were popularly vilified as undermining the British war effort against the Nazis. Kopff portrays Young as a hero for his attempts.