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Events on Wednesday 17 February 1796 1
1736 – 1796James Macpherson (1736-1796)Died 17 February 1796, aged 59James Macpherson was a Scottish writer best known for publishing the Ossian poems, which he claimed to have translated from ancient Gaelic sources. The works had enormous influence on European Romanticism despite later being shown to be largely his own composition.