Courtinier, daughter of the 'procureur de roi' of Poictiers, he left four sons and seven daughters. His collected works in Latin and French appeared at Paris in 1644, with a life and eulogistic notice by Gabriel Naudé. The volume contains a portrait of the author by Picart, in his official robes.
[Life by Naudé in collected ed. of his Works; Mackenzie's Writers of the Scots Nation, iii. 487-613; Irving's Scottish Writers, i. 161-9; Chambers's Biog. Dict. of Eminent Scotsmen, i. 142-3.]
BLACKWOOD, GEORGE FREDERICK (1838–1880), major, was second son of Major William Blackwood, of the Bengal army, and grandson of the founder of the publishing firm [see Blackwood, William]. He was born in 1838; was educated at the Edinburgh academy and at Addiscombe and was gazetted a second lieutenant in the Bengal artillery on 11 Dec. 1857. He arrived in India in the midst of the Indian mutiny, and was at once appointed to command two guns in Colonel Wilkinson's Rohilcund movable column. He was promoted first lieutenant on 27 Aug. 1858, and filled the post of adjutant first to the Bareilly and Gwalior divisions, and then to the twenty-second and nineteenth brigades of royal artillery from 1859 to 1864. He was promoted captain on 20 Feb. 1867, and in 1872 was appointed to command the artillery attached to General Bourchier's column in the Looshai expedition. In that capacity he was present at the attacks on Tipar-Mukh, Küng-Nüng and Taikooui, and he gave such satisfaction that his services were specially mentioned in the general's despatch of 19 March 1872, and he was promoted major by brevet on 11 Sept. following. He gave further evidence of his ability as an artillery officer by his very able report on the use of guns in such country as that in which he had been recently engaged, with hints on the calibre best suited for mountain guns, which was printed by the Indian government and circulated by it among its officers. Blackwood was promoted major on 10 Feb. 1875, and after temporarily commanding a battery of royal horse artillery came to England on sick leave. He thus missed the first Afghan campaign of 1878–79, but was in India when on the news of Cavagnari's death it was determined to once more occupy both Cabul and Candahar. Blackwood was posted to the commund of the E battery B brigade of royal horse artillery, and ordered to join the force destined for Candahar. While stationed there the news arrived of the advance of Ayoub Khan, and a column was ordered out under the command of Brigadier-general Burrows to assist the wall placed in command by Abdur-rahman Elhan, and to investigate the strength of the enemy. To that column Blackwood's battery was attached; the column was cut to pieces in the terrible battle of Maiwand on 27 July 1880, where Blackwood was killed and two of his guns lost.
[Times, 2 Oct. 1880.]
BLACKWOOD, HENRY, M.D. (d. 1614), physician, was descended from a family of good position in Fifeshire, and was a brother of Adam Blackwood [q. v.], judge of the parliament of Poitiers. He was born at Dunfermline, and after studying belles lettres and philosophy was sent by his uncle, Robert Reid, bishop of Orkney, to the university of Paris, where he taught philosophy about the year 1561. Having afterwards studied medicine he graduated M.D., was incorporated a member of the College of Physicians of Paris, and ultimately became dean of the faculty, He died in 1614. He edited 'In Organum Aristotelis Commentaria,' 'Collatio Philosophiæ atque Medicinæ,' and 'De Claris Medicis;' and left in manuscript 'Animadversio in omnes Galeni libros,' 'Hippocratis quædam cum MSS. collate,' 'In Alexandrum Trallianum Comment.,' and 'Locorum quorumdam Plinii explicatio.' Mackenzie also attributes to him 'Hippocratis Coi Prognosticorum libri tres, cum Latina interpretatione, ad veterum exemplarium fidem emendati et recogniti,' Paris, 1625, but the work was really edited by his son Henry, who was also a professor of medicine and surgery at Paris, and who died at Rouen, 17 Oct. 1634. George Blackwood, a brother of the father, taught philosophy at Paris about the year 1571, but subsequently took holy orders, and obtained considerable preferment in the French Church.
[Dempster's Hist. Eccles. Scot. Gent. (1627), 116–17; Biographie Universelle, iv. 549; Moreri's Dictionnaire Historique, ii. 489; Mackenzie's Writers of the Scots Nation, iii. 479–87; Irving's Scottish Writers, i. 168–9.]
BLACKWOOD, Sir HENRY (1770–1832), vice-admiral, fourth son of Sir John Blackwood, bart., of Ballyleidy, co. Down, and of Dorcas, Baroness Dufferin, and Claneboye, was born on 28 Dec. 1770. In April 1781 he entered the navy as a volunteer on board the Artois frigate, with Captain Macbride, and in her was present at the battle on the Doggerbank. He afterwards served with Captains Montgomery and Whitshed, and for four years in the Trusty with Commodore Cosby in the Mediterranean. In 1790 he
