William Henry Playfair (15 July 1790 – 19 March 1857) was one of the greatest Scottish architects of the 19th century, designer of many of Edinburgh's neo-classical landmarks in the New Town.
He was born in 15 July 1790 in Russell Square, London, to James Playfair and Jessie Graham. Playfair's father was also an architect, and his uncles were John Playfair, the scientist, and William Playfair, an economist and pioneer of information graphics.
Two of his finest works are the neo-classical buildings of the National Gallery of Scotland and the Royal Scottish Academy which are situated in the centre of Edinburgh. The Playfair Project completed in 2004 joined the two historic buildings with an underground link.
Playfair died in Edinburgh on 19 March 1857, and is buried in Edinburgh's Dean Cemetery, where he designed a number of monuments for others, including Lord Jeffrey.
Read more about William Henry Playfair: Timeline of Major Projects, Gallery of Architectural Work
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“I have been reporting club meetings for four years and I am tired of hearing reviews of the books I was brought up on. I am tired of amateur performances at occasions announced to be for purposes either of enjoyment or improvement. I am tired of suffering under the pretense of acquiring culture. I am tired of hearing the word “culture” used so wantonly. I am tired of essays that let no guilty author escape quotation.”
—Josephine Woodward, U.S. author. As quoted in Everyone Was Brave, ch. 3, by William L. O’Neill (1969)