David Murray (1830–1905) was a Scottish lawyer and scholar. Public information about his life and academic activities is limited. He left a work entitled Japan, which is the one item held in our collection. Judging from the available information, his writing drew on the rigorous habits of a legal practitioner and the research interests of a scholar; the subject concerns Japan, though the specific circumstances of composition, editions, and details of style remain to be further verified. He also wrote a work on the history and institutions of museums, indicating an interest in the evolution and operation of public cultural institutions. Overall, Murray's output was small and his influence rather specialized, chiefly aimed at readers interested in Japan and in the institutional history of museums; his writings may still serve as reference points for research in these fields.
