Alexander Smith

Alexander Smith (1829/30, probably 31 December 1829 – 5 January 1867) was a Scottish poet, labelled as one of the Spasmodic School, and essayist.

Alexander Smith was the eldest of eight, possibly nine, children born to John Smith (1803–1884) and Christina née Murray (1804–1881). John Smith was a pattern designer for the textile trade; he worked variously in Paisley and in Kilmarnock, where Alexander was born, before moving to Glasgow when Alexander was about eight years old.

When Alexander was still at school, he was stricken by a fever that left him with a squint in one eye. Details of his schooling are sparse, but it is known that it began in Paisley and continued at a school on John Street in Glasgow. There was talk of him being trained for the ministry, but the family's finances required that he leave school at the age of eleven and follow his father's trade in the muslin factory.