David Sellar

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William David Hamilton Sellar (27 February 1941 – 26 January 2019) was a legal historian who served as Lord Lyon King of Arms from 2008 to 2014.

Sellar studied history at Oxford University graduating as Bachelor of Arts before gaining a law degree (LLB) from the University of Edinburgh.{{cite web |url=http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/people/wdavidhsellar |title=Mr W. David H. Sellar |website=School of Law, University of Edinburgh |access-date=31 December 2013|archive-date=31 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231195957/http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/people/wdavidhsellar|url-status=live}} He qualified as a Scottish solicitor in 1966, and after two years as a legal assessor with the Scottish Land Court joined in 1968 the Faculty of Law at the University of Edinburgh, where he was elected an Honorary Fellow.

Sellar wrote about the Lordship of the Isles and on the origins of many Highland families.{{cite web|url=https://bill.celt.dias.ie/vol4/author.php?AuthorID=1395|title=Sellar (William David Hamilton)|website=bill.celt.dias.ie|access-date=20 May 2022|archive-date=2 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502212858/https://bill.celt.dias.ie/vol4/author.php?AuthorID=1395|url-status=live}}

File:Coat of Arms of the Court of the Lord Lyon.svg's official coat of arms]]

He served as a Member of the Ancient Monuments Board for Scotland, was President of the Scottish Genealogy Society{{cite web|url=http://www.scotsgenealogy.com/|title=Scottish Genealogy Society Edinburgh - The society for Scottish family history|first=The Scottish Genealogy Society - Family History and Ancestry in|last=Scotland|website=www.scotsgenealogy.com|access-date=12 August 2012|archive-date=14 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814072827/http://scotsgenealogy.com/|url-status=live}} and sat on the council of the Heraldry Society of Scotland, and as Vice-President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. He was the O'Donnell Lecturer, in Celtic Studies, at Edinburgh in 1985 and the Rhind Lecturer for the Society of Antiquaries in 2000. He held the office of Bute Pursuivant of Arms from 2001 until his appointment in 2008 as Lord Lyon King of Arms.{{Edinburgh Gazette |issue=25116 |date=9 November 2001 |page=2663 |city=e }}

A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (FSA Scot) and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS),{{cite web |url=http://www.royalhistoricalsociety.org/rhsfellows-s.doc |format=DOC |title=Fellows of the Royal Historical Society: S |publisher=Royal Historical Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120807135634/http://www.royalhistoricalsociety.org/rhsfellows-s.doc |archive-date=7 August 2012 }} Sellar was appointed Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) in the 2014 New Year Honours{{London Gazette|issue=60728 |supp=y|page=4|date=31 December 2013}} in anticipation of his retirement from the office of Lord Lyon.{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/lord-lyon-to-retire-at-end-of-January|title=2014.22455442 www.heraldscotland.com|access-date=7 January 2014|archive-date=8 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108000246/http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/lord-lyon-to-retire-at-end-of-January|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/honours-list/10542766/New-Year-Honours-2014-list-in-full.html|title=New Year Honours 2014: list in full|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=2013-12-30|access-date=2017-12-26|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235|archive-date=4 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404031906/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/honours-list/10542766/New-Year-Honours-2014-list-in-full.html|url-status=live}} Upon retirement, he was appointed Islay Herald Extraordinary.

He died on 26 January 2019.{{Cite news|url=https://www.scottishlegal.com/article/former-lord-lyon-david-sellar|title=Former Lord Lyon David Sellar|date=2019-01-28|access-date=2019-01-30|language=en-GB|archive-date=1 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201070157/https://www.scottishlegal.com/article/former-lord-lyon-david-sellar|url-status=live}} His funeral took place in the Lorimer chapel at Warriston Crematorium, Edinburgh, on Saturday 23 February 2019, with standing room only, followed by a reception in the Playfair Library at Edinburgh University.{{Cite web |url=https://announcements.johnstonpress.co.uk/obituaries/scotsman-uk/obituary.aspx?n=william-hamilton-sellar-david&pid=191465540 |title=William Hamilton (David) SELLAR Notice |publisher=The Scotsman |access-date=20 May 2022 |archive-date=26 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226172721/https://announcements.johnstonpress.co.uk/obituaries/scotsman-uk/obituary.aspx?n=william-hamilton-sellar-david&pid=191465540 |url-status=dead}}