Dr John Brown, alias 'The Devil Killer'

The print recalls the eccentric figure of Brown, a self-styled “Doctor” who gained notoriety in Scotland in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries as a wandering radical lecturer, poet, and self-proclaimed philosopher. A former artillery soldier and defender of Gibraltar, he later served briefly as an excise officer before turning fiercely against authority, clergy, and government, espousing confused theories on politics, religion, and his obsession with “perpetual motion.” Travelling widely, he delivered lectures often banned by magistrates, endured ridicule and violence from crowds, and supported himself by selling his rambling Books of Fame, filled with crude verse, grandiose ideas, and attacks on officials. Though widely regarded as deluded, he was tolerated or indulged by some for his oddity and persistence. Brown died in poverty after a life of hardship and controversy, leaving behind a reputation as a memorable, if absurd, figure of radical enthusiasm and eccentric zeal.