City Readers Digital Historic Collections at the New York Society Library

Malcolm Campbell, an educator, was born in 1758. He received his A.M. degree at the University of St. Andrews in his native Scotland. He arrived in America in 1785 with his wife Lucy McClellan and son James on the packet ship New York. A teacher of languages, he established a variety of preparatory schools and academies, at one point joining forces with fellow members of the St. Andrews Society Alexander McDonald and Edward Shepherd and in 1791 they opened a school at 32 Beaver Street (MacBean 197). In 1798, Campbell founded a school at 66 Cortlandt Street, and in 1799 at 158 Broadway. He edited the first American editions of Cicero's Orations and of Caesar's Commentaries, and revised and published L'Abbe Tardy's French dictionary in 1808 (MacBean 197).

Campbell died on October 11, 1821, and was buried at the Wall Street Presbyterian Church (MacBean 198).