Samuel Ferguson
Sir Samuel Ferguson
Born	March 10, 1810 Belfast, Ireland
Died	August 9, 1886(1886-08-09) (aged 76) Howth, Ireland
Occupation	Barrister, Writer, Antiquarian
Nationality	Irish
Genres	Irish poetry
Notable work(s)	Congal, Lays of the Western Gaels
Spouse(s)	Mary Guinness
Signature

Sir Samuel Ferguson (10 March 1810 – 9 August 1886) was an Irish poet, barrister, antiquarian, artist and public servant. Perhaps the most important Ulster-Scot poet of the 19th century, because of his interest in Irish mythology and early Irish history he can be seen as a forerunner of William Butler Yeats and the other poets of the Irish Literary Revival.

Early life[link]

Samuel Ferguson in his youth.

Ferguson was born at 23 High Street, Belfast into a family that had moved to Ulster from Scotland during the 17th century. His father was a spendthrift and his mother was a noted conversationalist and lover of literature who read the works of Shakespeare, Walter Scott, Keats, Shelley and other English authors to her six children.

Ferguson lived at a number of addresses, including Glenwhirry, where he later said he acquired the love of nature that informed his later work. He was educated at the Belfast Academy and the Belfast Academical Institution. He then moved to Dublin to study law at Trinity College, getting his BA in 1826 and his MA in 1832.

Because his father had exhausted the family property, Ferguson was forced to support himself through his student years. To do this, he turned to writing and was a regular contributor to Blackwood's Magazine by the age of 22. He was called to the bar in 1838, but continued to write and publish, both in Blackwood's and in the newly-established Dublin University Magazine.

Later life[link]

Ferguson settled in Dublin, where he practiced law. In 1846, he toured European museums, libraries and archaeological sites with strong connections to Irish scholarship.

He married Mary Guinness (1823–1905) in 1848, a great-great-niece of Arthur Guinness and the eldest daughter of Richard Rundell Guinness who founded the Guinness Mahon bank. At that time he was defending the Young Irelander poet Richard Dalton Williams. He retired from the bar when he was appointed First Deputy Keeper of Public Records of Ireland.^[1]

As well as his poetry, Ferguson contributed a number of articles on topics of Irish interest to antiquarian journals. In 1863, he travelled in Brittany, Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland to study megaliths and other archaeological sites. These studies were important to his major antiquarian work, Ogham Inscriptions in Ireland, Wales and Scotland, which was edited after his death by his widow and published in 1887.^[1]

His collected poems, Lays of the Western Gael was published in 1865, resulting in the award of a degree LL.D. honoris causa from Trinity. He wrote many of his poems with both Irish and English translations. In 1867, Ferguson retired from the bar to take up the newly created post of Deputy Keeper of the Public Records in Ireland. As reward for his services, he received a knighthood in 1878.^[1]

Ferguson's major work, the long poem Congal was published in 1872 and a third volume, Poems in 1880. In 1882, he was elected President of the Royal Irish Academy, an organisation dedicated to the advancement of science, literature and antiquarian studies. His house in North Great George's St., Dublin, was open to everyone interested in art, literature or music. He died in Howth, just outside Dublin city, and was buried in Donegore near Templepatrick, County Antrim.^[1]

Works[link]

• Lament for the Death of Thomas Davis (1847)
• Cashel of Munster (1867)
• The Coolun (1867)
• Dear Dark Head (1867)
• The Poetry of Sir Samuel Ferguson (published 1887)
• Poems of Sir Samuel Ferguson (published 1918)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ferguson, Samuel (1887), O'Hagan, John, ed., The Poetry of Sir Samuel Ferguson, Dublin: M. H. Gill and Son, http://books.google.com/?id=32kOAAAAIAAJ, retrieved 2008-08-10 
• Ferguson, Samuel (1918), Graves, Alfred Perceval, ed., Poems of Sir Samuel Ferguson, Dublin: The Talbot Press, http://www.archive.org/details/poemsofsirsamuel00ferguoft, retrieved 2008-03-30 
• Ferguson, Mary Catharine (1896), Sir Samuel Ferguson in the Ireland of His Day, I, Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, http://books.google.com/?id=JrAVAAAAYAAJ, retrieved 2008-08-10 
• Ferguson, Mary Catharine (1896), Sir Samuel Ferguson in the Ireland of His Day, II, Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, http://books.google.com/?id=9aEzAAAAMAAJ, retrieved 2008-08-10 
• Biography
• Three poems by Ferguson
• Notes and poems

Samuel
Infant Samuel by Joshua Reynolds 1723
Prophet, Seer
Honored in	Judaism Christianity Islam
Major shrine	Tomb of Samuel, Jerusalem

Samuel ( /ˈsæm.juː.əl/;^[1] Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֶל, Modern Shmu'el Tiberian Šəmûʼēl; Greek: Σαμουήλ Samouēl; Latin: Samvel; صموئيل, Ṣamu’īl; Strong's: Shemuwel) is a leader of ancient Israel in the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. He is also known as a prophet and is mentioned in the Qur'an.^[2]

His status, as viewed by rabbinical literature, is that he was the last of the Hebrew Judges and the first of the major prophets who began to prophesy inside the Land of Israel. He was thus at the cusp between two eras. According to the text of the Books of Samuel, he also anointed the first two kings of the Kingdom of Israel: Saul and David.

Biblical account[link]

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout - Hannah presenting her son Samuel to the priest Eli ca.1665

Family[link]

Samuel's mother was Hannah and his father was Elkanah. Hannah, at the beginning of the narrative, is barren and childless, like Abraham's wife Sarah. Hannah prays to God for a child. Eli who is sitting at the foot of the doorpost in the sanctuary at Shiloh, sees her apparently mumbling and thinks Hannah is drunk, but is soon assured of her motivation and sobriety. Eli was, according to the Books of Samuel, the name of a priest of Shiloh, and one of the last Israelite Judges before the rule of kings in ancient Israel. He blesses her after she promises the child to God. Subsequently Hannah becomes pregnant; her child is Samuel. After he is weaned, she leaves him in Eli's care.

Elkanah is Samuel's father and lives at Ramah (1 Sam. 1:19; 2:11; comp. 28:3), in the district of Zuph. His genealogy is also found in a pedigree of the Kohathites (1 Chron. 6:3-15) and in that of Heman, his great-grandson (ib. vi. 18-22). According to the genealogical tables, Elkanah was, a Levite, a fact otherwise not mentioned in the books of Samuel. The fact that Elkanah, a Levite, was denominated an Ephraimite is analogous to the designation of a Levite belonging to Judah (Judges 17:7, for example).^[3]

Name[link]

According to 1 Samuel 1:20, Hannah named Samuel in memory of her requesting a child from God and God listening. Samuel is translated as Heard of God or possibly as a sentence "God has heard" (from 'Shama', heard and 'El', God — with "Shama" as the verb and "El" as the subject).^[4] Samuel in the Hebrew root word is "sha’al" which is mentioned seven times in 1 Samuel 1 and once as "sha’ul" (1:28), which is Saul’s name in Hebrew. Coogan suggests that Saul’s birth narrative was transferred to Samuel by the Deuteronomistic Historians.^[5]

Calling[link]

One night, around the age of 13, Samuel heard a voice calling his name. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Samuel was about 12 years old.^[6] He initially assumed it was coming from Eli and went to Eli to ask what he wished to say. Eli, however, sent Samuel back to sleep. After this happened three times Eli realized that the voice was God's, and instructed Samuel on how to respond. Once Samuel responded God told him that the wickedness of the sons of Eli had resulted in their dynasty being condemned to destruction. Eli asked Samuel to honestly recount to him what he had been told, and upon receiving the communication merely said that God should do what seems right to himself.

Leader[link]

During Samuel's youth at Shiloh the Philistines inflicted a decisive defeat against the Israelites at Eben-Ezer (1 Sam. 4:1,2), placed the land under Philistine oppression, and took the sanctuary's Ark for themselves. (Some modern textual scholars consider that the Song of Moses, believed to be originally distinct from the surrounding text of Deuteronomy and not written by Moses, may in reality have been written in response to the theological implications of this disastrous defeat, possibly by Samuel himself.)^{[citation needed]}

This was decades before the Israelites began to be ruled by a king. After 20 years of such oppression, Samuel, who had gained national prominence as a prophet, summoned the people to Mizpah (one of the highest hills in the land), where he organized them into an army, and led them against the Philistines. The Philistines, having marched to Mizpah to attack the newly amassed Israelite army, were soundly defeated and fled in terror. The retreating Philistines were slaughtered by the Israelites, which the Bible portrays positively. The text then states that Samuel erected a large stone at the battle site as a memorial, and there ensued a long period of peace thereafter.

Textual criticism[link]

National prophet, local seer[link]

Some authors see the biblical Samuel as combining descriptions of two distinct roles:

• A seer, based at Ramah, and seemingly known scarcely beyond the immediate neighbourhood of Ramah (Saul, for example, not having heard of him, with his servant informing him of his existence instead). In this role, Samuel is associated with the bands of musical ecstatic roaming prophets (shouters - neb'im) at Gibeah, Bethel, and Gilgal, and some traditional scholars have argued that Samuel was the founder of these groups. At Ramah, Samuel secretly anoints Saul, after having met him for the first time, while Saul was looking for his father's lost donkeys, and treated him to a meal.
• A prophet, based at Shiloh, who went throughout the land, from place to place, with unwearied zeal, reproving, rebuking, and exhorting the people to repentance. In this role, Samuel acted as a (biblical) judge, publicly advising the nation, and also giving private advice to individuals. Eventually Samuel delegates this role to his sons, based at Beersheba, but they behave corruptly and so the people, facing invasion from the Ammonites, persuade Samuel to appoint a king. Samuel reluctantly does so, and anoints Saul in front of the entire nation, who had gathered to see him.

Textual scholars suggest that these two roles come from different sources, which later were spliced together to form the Book(s) of Samuel. The oldest is considered to be that which marks Samuel as the local seer of Ramah, who willingly anoints Saul as King in secret, while the latter is that which presents Samuel as a national figure, who begrudgingly anoints Saul as King in front of a national assembly. This later source is generally known as the republican source, since here, and elsewhere, it denigrates the actions and role of the monarchy (particularly those of Saul) and favours religious figures, in contrast to the other main source – the monarchial source – which treats the monarchy favourably. Theoretically if we had the monarchial source we would see Saul appointed king by public acclamation, due to his military victories, and not by cleromancy involving Samuel. Another difference between the sources is that the republican source treats the shouters as somewhat independent from Samuel (1 Samuel 9) rather than having been led by him (1 Samuel 19:18ff). The passage (1 Samuel 7:15-16) in which Samuel is described as having exercised the functions of a (biblical) judge, during an annual circuit from Ramah to Bethel to Gilgal (the Gilgal between Ebal and Gerizim) to Mizpah and back to Ramah, is thought by textual scholars to be a redaction aimed at harmonizing the two portrayals of Samuel.^[7]

The Book(s) of Samuel variously describe Samuel as having carried out sacrifices at sanctuaries, and having constructed and sanctified altars. According to the Mitzvot only Aaronic priests and/or Levites (depending on the Mitzvah) were permitted to perform these actions, and simply being a nazarite or prophet was insufficient. The books of Samuel and Kings offer numerous examples where this rule is not followed by kings and prophets, but some textual scholars look elsewhere seeking a harmonization of the issues. In the Book of Chronicles, Samuel is described as a Levite, rectifying this situation; however textual scholars widely see the Book of Chronicles as an attempt to redact the Book(s) of Samuel and of Kings to conform to later religious sensibilities. Since many of the Mitzvot themselves are thought to postdate the Book(s) of Samuel (according to the documentary hypothesis), Chronicles is probably making its claim based on religious bias. The Levitical genealogy of 1 Chronicles 4 is not historical, according to modern scholarship.^[7]

The Deuteronomistic Historians' Portrait of Samuel[link]

The Deuteronomistic Historians, who redacted the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings), idealized Samuel as a figure who is larger than life like Joshua. Samuel is a priest even though he is not of the tribe of Levi from his childhood. Samuel is a judge who leads the military like in the Book of Judges and also who exercises judicial functions. In 1 Sam 12:6-17, the Deuteronomic Historians composed a speech of Samuel that puts him as the judge sent by God to save Israel.^[8] In 1 Samuel 9:6-20, Samuel is seen as a local “seer.” The Deuteronomistic Historians preserved this view of Samuel while contributing him as “the first of prophets to articulate the failure of Israel to live up to its covenant with God.” ^[8] For the Deuteronomistic Historians, Samuel was extension of Moses and continuing Moses’ function as a prophet, judge, and a priest which made historical Samuel uncertain.^[8]

Samuel's retirement and death[link]

Apparition of the spirit of Samuel to Saul, by Salvator Rosa, 1668.

Samuel initially appointed his two sons as his successors; however, the Israelites rejected them and insisted on having a king rule over them. Samuel, who is opposed to a king, warns them of the potential negative consequences of such a decision, but at the people's insistence, asks God for a king. Samuel is told to seek out Saul, an animal herder said to be a head taller than his peers, and anoint him as the first King of Israel.

Just before his retirement, Samuel gathered the people to an assembly at Gilgal, and gives them a farewell speech, in which he emphasised how prophets and judges were more important than kings, how kings should be held to account, and how the people should not fall into idol worship, or worship of Asherah or of Baal; Samuel threatened that God would subject the people to foreign invaders should they disobey. This is seen by some people as a deuteronomic redaction;^[7] being that archaeologically sees that Asherah was still worshipped in Israelite households well into the 6th century. However, the Bible is clear in 1 Kings 11:5, 33, and 2 Kings 23:13 that the Israelites fell into Asherah worship later on.^[9]

Samuel then went into retirement, though he reappears briefly in the two accounts of why Saul's dynasty lost divine favour (parts of 1 Samuel 13 and 15), essentially acting, according to scholars, as the narrator's mouthpiece.^{[citation needed]} Apart from being the individual who anoints David as king, a role Samuel is abruptly summoned to take, he does not appear any further in the text until his own death at his hometown Ramah (1 Samuel 25:1, 28:3), where he is buried (cf. 2 Kings 21:18, 2 Chronicles 33:20, and John 19:41). According to classical rabbinical sources, this was at the age of fifty-two.

Samuel's death, however, is not completely the end of his appearance in the narrative. In the passage concerning Saul's visit to the Witch of Endor, ascribed by textual scholars to the republican source, Samuel was temporarily raised from the dead so that he can tell Saul his future. Many Christian interpretations of this event portray Samuel's appearance as being a deception from Satan, or even a demon in disguise. There are other interpretations which say that Saul and the witch having been frightened by his appearance, and Samuel as having been composed, classical rabbinical sources argue that Samuel was terrified by the ordeal, having expected to be appearing to face God's judgement, and had therefore brought Moses with him (to the land of the living) as a witness to his adherence to the mitzvot.^[7]

Perspectives on Samuel[link]

Judaism[link]

According to the Book of Jeremiah, and one of the Psalms (99), Samuel had a high devotion to God. Classical Rabbinical literature adds that he was more than an equal to Moses, God speaking directly to Samuel, rather than Samuel having to attend the tabernacle to hear God.^[10] Samuel is also described by the Rabbis as having been extremely intelligent; he argued that it was legitimate for laymen to slaughter sacrifices, since the Halakha only insisted that the priests bring the blood (cf Leviticus 1:5, Zebahim 32a).^[11] Eli, who was viewed negatively by many Classical Rabbis, is said to have reacted to this logic of Samuel by arguing that it was technically true, but Samuel should be put to death for making legal statements while Eli (his mentor) was present.^[11]

Samuel is also treated by the Classical Rabbis as a much more sympathetic character than he appears at face value in the Bible; his annual circuit is explained as being due to his wish to spare people the task of having to journey to him; Samuel is said to have been very rich, taking his entire household with him on the circuit so that he didn't need to impose himself on anyone's hospitality; when Saul fell out of God's favour, Samuel is described as having grieved copiously and having prematurely aged.^[12]

Christianity[link]

For Evangelical Christians Samuel is considered to be a Prophet, Judge, and wise Leader of Israel, and treated as an example of fulfilled commitments to God. On the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar, his feast day is August 20. He is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 30. In the Coptic Orthodox Church, the commemoration of the departure of Samuel the Prophet is celebrated on 9 Paoni.

Islam[link]

Mosque of the Prophet Samuel, Jerusalem

Tomb of the Prophet Samuel, Jerusalem

Samuel is also a revered prophet^[13] and seer in the Islamic faith. The narrative of Samuel in Muslim literature focuses specifically on his birth and the anointing of Saul. Other elements from his narrative are in accordance with the narratives of other prophets of Israel, as exegesis recounts Samuel's preaching against idolatry. Although he is mentioned in the Qur'an, his name is not given but he is instead referred to as "a Prophet".^[14] According to Islamic history, the Israelites, after the time of the prophet Moses, wanted a king to rule over their country. Thus, God sent the prophet Samuel to anoint Saul as the first king for the Israelites. The Qur'an states:

Have you thought of the elders of Israel after Moses, and how they said to their apostle: "Set up a king for us, then we shall fight in the way of God?" He replied: "This too is possible that when commanded to fight you may not fight at all." They said: "How is it we should not fight in the way of God when we have been driven from our homes and deprived of our Sons?" But when they were ordered to fight they turned away, except for a few; yet God knows the sinners.

—Qur'an, sura 2 (Al-Baqara), ayah 246^[14]

The Qur'an goes on to state that a king was anointed by the prophet, whose name was Talut (Saul in the Hebrew Bible). However, it states that the Israelites mocked and reviled the newly appointed king, as he was not wealthy from birth. But, in sharp contrast to the Hebrew Bible, the Qur'an praises Saul greatly, and mentions that he was gifted with great spiritual and physical strength. In the Qur'anic account, Samuel prophesies to the children of Israel, telling them that the sign of Saul's kingship will be that the Ark of the Covenant will come back to the Israelites:

And when their prophet said to them: "God has raised Saul king over you," they said: "How can he be king over us when we have greater right to kingship than he, for he does not even possess abundant wealth?" "God has chosen him in preference to you," said the prophet "and gifted him abundantly in wisdom and stature; and God gives authority to whomsoever He will: God is infinite and all-wise."
Their prophet said to them: "The sign of his kingship will be that you will come to have a chest (tabu't) full of peace and tranquility (Sakina) from your Lord and remainder of the legacy of the children of Moses and the children of Aaron, carried over by the angels. In this certainly shall be a sign for you if you really believe."

—Qur'an, sura 2 (Al-Baqara), ayah 247–248^[15]

See also[link]

• Biblical judges
• Books of Samuel
• Book of Samuel the Seer
• List of names referring to El
• Midrash Samuel
• Tomb of Samuel

References[link]

• This article incorporates text from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), a publication now in the public domain.

Champ Ferguson
Champ Ferguson in 1865
Born	(1821-11-29)November 29, 1821 Clinton County, Kentucky
Died	October 20, 1865(1865-10-20) (aged 43) Tennessee
Conviction(s)	Murder, 53 counts {Suspect claimed over 100 victims}
Penalty	Death by hanging
Status	Deceased

Champ Ferguson (November 29, 1821 – October 20, 1865) was a notorious Confederate guerrilla during the American Civil War. He claimed to have killed over 100 Union soldiers and pro-Union civilians.

Early life and origins of Confederate stance[link]

Ferguson was born in Clinton County, Kentucky, on the Tennessee border, the oldest of ten children. Like his father, he became a farmer. Ferguson earned a reputation for violence. Reportedly, in 1858, he led a group of men who tied Sheriff James Read of Fentress County, Tennessee to a tree. Ferguson then rode his horse around the tree, hacking at Read repeatedly with a sword until he was dead. He is also claimed to have stabbed a man named Evans at a camp meeting. Evans survived.^[1] In the 1850s, Ferguson moved with his wife and family to the Calfkiller River Valley in White County, Tennessee.

For reasons not clear, Ferguson developed a passionate hatred for the Union cause. One tradition claims that Union soldiers raped his wife and daughter. Another belief is that he held grudges against a number of local Union men. Ferguson himself would claim that Confederate officials had promised him they would overlook his previous behaviour if he supported the southern war effort.

Guerrilla activities[link]

During the Civil War, East Tennessee, a mostly mountainous region, was divided over secession from the Union. The terrain and lack of law enforcement due to the war gave guerrilla fighters and irregular military groups significant freedom in the region. There are substantial numbers of recorded incidents of guerrilla and revenge attacks, especially on the Cumberland Plateau. Even families were often divided. One of Champ Ferguson's brothers was killed as a member of the Union's 1st Kentucky Cavalry.^[2]

At the start of the war, Ferguson organized a unit and started attacking civilians believed to support the Union. Occasionally, his guerrilla band cooperated with Confederate military units led by Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan and Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler. Some evidence indicates Ferguson was actually made a captain of partisan rangers by Morgan. However, Ferguson's men were seldom subject to military discipline and frequently violated the normal rules of warfare.

There are legends of Ferguson's alleged sadism, including stories that he decapitated prisoners and rolled their heads down hillsides and was willing to kill elderly and bedridden men. He was once arrested by Confederate authorities for the murder of a government official and was detained for two months in Wytheville, Virginia, though he was finally released.

Trial and hanging[link]

Ferguson surrounded by his guards.

At the war's end, Ferguson returned home to his farm. He was promptly arrested by Union troops and was tried in Nashville for 53 murders, an attempt to document his wartime activities. His trial attracted national attention and became a major media event. One of Ferguson's main adversaries during the conflict, "Tinker Dave" Beaty,^[3] testified against him—just as Ferguson had led a band of guerrillas against any suspected or real pro-unionists, Beaty had led a band of guerrillas against any suspected or real pro-Confederates. Not surprisingly, each had done his best to kill the other. Ferguson acknowledged his band had killed many of the victims named and admitted killing over 100 men personally. Nevertheless, he insisted it was only part of his military duty.

Ferguson's grave

The number of wounded men and prisoners his band killed after the Battle of Saltville is still a matter of dispute. These were mostly members of the all-black 5th United States Colored Cavalry and their white officers. Ferguson and his men supposedly murdered the wounded in their beds at the hospital, and only the arrival of Thomas' Legion of Cherokee Indians and Highlanders prevented further slaughter. Ferguson departed as soon as he heard that regular Confederate troops had arrived.

On October 10, 1865, Champ was found guilty and sentenced to hang. He made a statement in response to the verdict: "I am yet and will die a Rebel ... I killed a good many men, of course, but I never killed a man who I did not know was seeking my life. ... I had always heard that the Federals would not take me prisoner, but would shoot me down wherever they found me. That is what made me kill more than I otherwise would have done. I repeat that I die a Rebel out and out, and my last request is that my body be removed to White County, Tennessee, and be buried in good Rebel soil."^[4] He was hanged on October 20, 1865. His body was buried in the France Cemetery on Highway 84 (Monterey Highway) north of Sparta, White County, Tennessee.

See also[link]

• American Civil War

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

• Johnson, James. "Execution of Champ Ferguson." James K. Polk Papers, Box 1, Folder 9. (Tennessee State Library and Archives; Nashville Dispatch, 22 October 1865).
• McDade, Arthur, "Tennessee Guerrilla Champ Ferguson Killed More Than 100 Men Before Facing The Hangman's Noose". America's Civil War. March 2001, Vol. 14, No. 1.
• Mays, Thomas D. Cumberland Blood: Champ Ferguson's Civil War. Southern Illinois University Press, 2008.
• http://www.siu.edu/~siupress/MaysCumberlandBlood.html

External links[link]

• See [1] {reference only}
• "Guerilla Warfare in Kentucky" — Article by Civil War historian/author Bryan S. Bush

Craig Ferguson
Performing stand-up in New York City, 2007
Born	(1962-05-17) May 17, 1962 (age 50) Glasgow, Scotland
Medium	Stand-up, television, film, music, books
Nationality	Scotland; United States
Years active	1980–present
Genres	Observational comedy, satire/political satire/news satire
Subject(s)	Everyday life, popular culture, self-deprecation, politics
Spouse	Anne Hogarth (1983–86) (divorced) Sascha Corwin (1998–2004) (divorced) 1 child Megan Wallace-Cunningham (2008–present) 1 child
Notable works and roles	Host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Nigel Wick on The Drew Carey Show Glaswegian in One Foot in the Grave Gobber in How to Train Your Dragon
Website	The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962^[1]) is a Scottish-American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, actor, director, author, and producer. He is the host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, an Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody Award-winning late-night talk show that airs on CBS. In addition to hosting that program and performing stand-up comedy, Ferguson has written two books: Between the Bridge and the River, a novel, and American on Purpose, a memoir. He became a citizen of the United States in 2008.^[2]

Before his career as a late-night television host, Ferguson was best known in the United States for his role as the office boss, Nigel Wick, on The Drew Carey Show from 1996 to 2003. He also wrote and starred in three films, directing one of them.

Early life[link]

Ferguson was born in the Stobhill Hospital in the Springburn district of Glasgow, Scotland to Robert and Janet Ferguson, and raised in nearby Cumbernauld, growing up "chubby and bullied".^[3][4] When he was six months old, he and his family moved from their Springburn apartment to a council house in Cumbernauld. They lived there as Glasgow was re-housing many people following damage to the city from World War II.^[4] Ferguson attended Muirfield Primary School and Cumbernauld High School.^[5] At age sixteen, Ferguson dropped out of Cumbernauld High School and began an apprenticeship to be an electronics technician at a local factory of American company Burroughs Corporation.^[6]

His first visit to the United States was as a teenager to visit an uncle who lived on Long Island, near New York City.^[7] When he moved to New York City in 1983, he worked in construction in Harlem.^[8][9] Ferguson later became a bouncer at a nightclub, Save the Robots.^[10]

Career[link]

British career[link]

Ferguson's experience in entertainment began as a drummer in a rock band called Exposure. He then joined a punk band called The Bastards from Hell.^[11] The band, later renamed "Dreamboys", and fronted by vocalist Peter Capaldi, performed regularly in Glasgow from 1980 to 1982.^[12] Ferguson credits Capaldi for inspiring him to try comedy.^[3]

After a nerve-wrecking, knee-knocking first appearance, he decided to create a character that was a "parody of all the über-patriotic native folk singers who seemed to infect every public performance in Scotland."^[3] The character, "Bing Hitler" (actually coined by Capaldi as Ferguson started with the monogram of "Nico Fulton" but admittedly later stole the name for his "own nefarious ends"),^[12] premiered in Glasgow, and subsequently became a hit at the 1986 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. A recording of his stage act as Bing Hitler was made at Glasgow's Tron Theatre and released in the 1980s;^[13] a Bing Hitler monologue ("A Lecture for Burns Night") appears on the compilation cassette Honey at the Core.

Ferguson's first television appearance was as Confidence on BBC sitcom Red Dwarf during the episode "Confidence and Paranoia".

Ferguson made his starring television debut in The Craig Ferguson Show, a one-off comedy pilot for Granada Television, which co-starred Paul Whitehouse and Helen Atkinson-Wood.^[14] This was broadcast throughout the UK on 4 March 1990, but was not made into a full series.

He has also found success in musical theatre. Beginning in 1991, he appeared on stage as Brad Majors in the London production of The Rocky Horror Show, alongside Anthony Head, who was playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter at the time.^{[citation needed]} In 1994, Ferguson played Father MacLean in the highly controversial production of Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom at the Union Chapel in London. The same year, he appeared again at the Edinburgh Fringe, as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple, opposite Gerard Kelly as Felix and Kate Anthony as Gwendolin Pidgeon, who is now much better known as Aunty Pam in Coronation Street; the play, which was relocated to 1990s Glasgow, later toured Scotland.^[15]