Author. He was a Scottish-born author as well as a poet, journalist, Celtic anthologist, novelist, and prolific songwriter. His best-known piece was the 1841 mob psychology textbook "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds." Near his retirement, his poems were published in a 362-page collection as "Voices from the Crowd." Several of his poems became lyrics to songs such as "Cheer, Boys, Cheer" and "The Good Time Coming," which successfully sold 400,000 copies of sheet music. One of his novels was the three-volume 1841 "Longbeard, Lord of London, a Romance." Born the son of a naval officer, he had an excellent education. After attending school in London, he studied languages, especially French, in Paris and Brussels. He held a secretarial position while writing articles in French for the Belgium newspaper "Courrier Belge" and publishing poems in the British newspaper "Telegram." During this time, he traveled to Paris and Germany. In May of 1832, he accepted a position to teach Italian to Benjamin Lumley, a well-respected operatic theatre manager in London. After starting his journalism career in 1834 at "The Sun," he held an assistant editorial position from 1835 to 1844 at the "Morning Chronicle." He published "Songs and Poems" in 1834. In 1844 he returned to Scotland to become the editor of the "Glasgow Argus" as well as contributing articles and poetry to his colleague Charles Dickins' "Daily News." After four years, he returned to London and the "Morning Chronicle" as an investigating reporter. In 1848 he joined the editorial office of the "Illustrated London News," becoming the editor of the paper in 1852. He successfully wrote regular articles on his music. On October 3, 1857, he left for an 8-month lecturing tour through the United States and Canada. In 1860 he left the "Illustrated London News." Although he continued to publish songs and poems, he attempted and failed to start his own periodicals, first in 1860 and then in 1862. Several of his poems have stood the test of time, including "If I Had a Voice." He came to the United States as a foreign correspondent for the "Times," reporting on the American Civil War. During this time, he discovered an American cell of the Irish Fenian Brotherhood, publishing in British newspaper articles on this concern. Besides writing his own songs, he began to edit other writers' songs until 1872. In his later years, he wrote about Gaelic and Celtic history. In 1885 he authored, from a British viewpoint, "The Founders of the American Republic: A History and Biography." He married twice. His first wife was Rosa Henrietta Vale, by whom he had three sons and a daughter. One of his sons was Eric Mackay, who became a minor poet and playwright. His first wife died on December 28, 1859. At that point, he married Mary Kirtland, who had been previously married to a Mills. The couple had a daughter in 1855, who became an author, "Marie Corelli." He received an LLD from Glasgow University.