Historian and philosopher David Hume (1711–1776), author of Treatise of Human Nature, was a household name across Europe in the 18th century, and a critical figure in the Scottish Enlightenment. He was a strong influence on many other thinkers and public figures, Adam Smith among them. However, his grave had to be guarded for 8 days after burial, due to strong public hostility towards him at the time of his death, largely due to his professed atheism. The tomb is a large cylindrical tower on the Edinburgh skyline. It was designed by Robert Adam in 1777. The inscription reads "Behold, I come quickly, thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ"
The Political Martyrs Monument is a Category A listed memorial[1] to the Scottish Martyrs to Liberty and stands in the Old Calton Cemetery on Calton Hill, Edinburgh. It is a tall ashlar obelisk on a square-plan base plinth. The Scottish Martyrs were five men who were imprisoned for campaigning for parliamentary reform in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The five were accused of sedition and transported to Australia in 1794, being allowed to return some 15 years later. The monument is in the form of a 90 ft obelisk of grey-black sandstone blocks, and is inscribed with the names of the five men:- Thomas Muir, Joseph Gerrald, Thomas Fyshe Palmer, William Skirving and Maurice Margarot It states it was erected by the Friends of the People society in 1844. It was in 1837 that Joseph Hume MP initiated a plan for a memorial to the Scottish Political Martyrs. On 21 August, 1884, 3000 gathered to see Humne lay the foundation stone. The monument stands in the Old Calton Burial Ground on Calton Hill.
