Henry Mackenzie was born on July 26, 1745, at Liberton Wynd in Edinburgh. His father, Dr. Joshua Mackenzie, was a well-known doctor in Edinburgh. His mother, Margaret Rose, was from an old family in Nairnshire. Mackenzie's family, the Mackenzies of Inverlael, were descended from the ancient Barons of Kintail. Mackenzie went to High School and then the University of Edinburgh to study law. Margaret and Hope were his daughters. Joshua Henry Davidson, who lived from 1785 to 1847, was the Queen's first doctor in Scotland. The Prince of Tunis, the first of his plays, was put on in Edinburgh in 1773, with some success. Other plays, however, did not do as well. Mackenzie was a member of an Edinburgh literary club in Edinburgh. The club read papers like The Spectator. Henry Mackenzie was in charge of the Mirror and wrote most of its articles. In 1785, a similar paper called the Lounger came out. It was published for almost two years and had one of the earliest tributes to Robert Burns.
