Thomas Finlayson Henderson


Thomas Finlayson Henderson, often credited as T. F. Henderson, was a Scottish historian, author and editor. Henderson was a prolific author and contributed entries on Scottish figures for the Dictionary of National Biography and Encyclopædia Britannica. He was considered an authority on poet Robert Burns and Mary, Queen of Scots.

Biography

Henderson was born in Lathones, Fife, Scotland in May 1844. He was the second of 11 children born to farmer Archibald Henderson and his wife, Catherine, both of Kincardine-in-Menteith, a village in Perthshire.
He attended the University of St Andrews and joined the staff of the Encyclopædia Britannica. In 1914, the University of St Andrews awarded him an honorary LL.D.
He was an editor for several anthologies of poetry, including the works of Robert Burns. His work with Burns was praised by The Times, which noted, "For the first time Burns was edited with the care usually reserved for editions of the ancient classics." Henderson was also an editor of later editions of The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, considered the foremost historic work of its era, and Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border.

Selected bibliography