A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature/M'Lennan, John Ferguson

by John William Cousin

M'Lennan, John Ferguson (1827-1881). -- Sociologist, b. at Inverness, and ed. at Aberdeen and Camb., was in 1857 called to the Scottish Bar, and was subsequently Parliamentary Draftsman for Scotland. His main contribution to literature is his original and learned book, Primitive Marriage (1865). Another work, The Patriarchal Theory, left unfinished, was completed by his brother (1884). These works and other papers by M. gave a great impulse to the study of the problems with which they deal, and cognate questions. M. received the degree of LL.D. from Aberdeen in 1874.