10 June 1822 saw the trial of James Stuart for the murder of Alexander Boswell in a duel the previous March. Stuart, insulted by publications authored by Boswell, challenged him and shot him dead. In the trial, defended by Francis Jeffrey, editor of the Edinburgh Review, Stuart was acquitted. Image: James Stuart of Dunearn (1775-1849), Duellist and Pamphleteer, Portrait by Daniel Macnee (courtesy of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery).

Articles

Mark Schoenfield, “The Trial of James Stuart (1822): ‘Abuse of the Press, and Duelling’”