Macvey was born on 12 April 1776 in
Kirkintilloch the son of John Macvey a merchant in the town. His mother's maiden name was Napier. He studied law first at the
University of Glasgow then at the University of Edinburgh before befriending the publisher
Archibald Constable in 1798. Constable later asked Napier to write for the
Edinburgh Review with articles beginning from 1805 and became an editor in 1814. He in turn recruited several eminent authorities to write in the 6th edition and its supplement, as well as in the 7th edition of the
Britannica. He was editor of the
Review from 1829. From 1805 to 1837 he acted as Librarian to the
Signet Library, the law library for Edinburgh solicitors. From 1816 to 1824 he lectured in legal
conveyancing, and in 1825 became a professor of conveyancing at the University of Edinburgh. He was inducted into the
Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge in 1817 In 1812 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 1817 he had a public fall out with
Professor John Wilson in a series of letters published in
Blackwood's Magazine under the title of
Hypocrisy Unveiled. In 1829 he replaced
Francis Jeffrey as principal editor of
The Edinburgh Review. In the 1830s he is listed as living and operating from 39 Castle Street in
Edinburgh's New Town, a 3-storey townhouse within a four-storey and attic block. It was previously the home of
Sir Walter Scott. He died in Edinburgh on 11 February 1847, and is buried in
St John's Episcopal Churchyard at the east end of
Princes Street. ==Family==