Editing Adam Smith (section)

===Later years===
In 1766, Henry Scott's younger brother died in Paris, and Smith's tour as a tutor ended shortly thereafter.<ref>{{harvnb|Buchholz|1999|p=18}}</ref> Smith returned home that year to Kirkcaldy, and he devoted much of the next decade to writing his ''magnum opus''.<ref>{{harvnb|Buchan|2006|p=90}}</ref> There, he befriended [[Henry Moyes]], a young blind man who showed precocious aptitude. Smith secured the patronage of David Hume and [[Thomas Reid]] in the young man's education.<ref>''Dr [[James Currie (physician)|James Currie]] to [[Thomas Creevey]]'', 24 February 1793, Lpool RO, Currie MS 920 CUR</ref> In May 1767, Smith was elected fellow of the [[Royal Society of London]],<ref>Smith was elected a [[Fellowship of the Royal Society|Fellow of the Royal Society]] on 21 May 1767, but was not admitted until 27 May 1773. See {{cite book |title =The Correspondence of Adam Smith |editor1= Mossner, Ernest Campbell |editor1-link= Ernest Campbell Mossner |editor2= Ross, Ian Simpson |editor2-link = Ian Simpson Ross |place = Indianapolis |publisher = Liberty Fund |year = 1987 |edition = 2nd |url= https://archive.org/details/correspondenceof0000smit_e1l8/page/n5/mode/2up?view=theater |url-access= registration |isbn=0198285701 |via= [[Internet Archive]] |page=[https://archive.org/details/correspondenceof0000smit_e1l8/page/131/mode/2up?view=theater 131]}}; {{cite book |author= Ross, Ian Simpson |author-link = Ian Simpson Ross  |title= The Life of Adam Smith |place= Oxford |publisher= Clarendon Press |year= 2010 |edition= 2nd |isbn= 978-0199550036 |url= https://archive.org/details/lifeofadamsmith0000ross_l0d1_2ndedition/page/n5/mode/2up?view=theater |url-access= registration |page= [https://archive.org/details/lifeofadamsmith0000ross_l0d1_2ndedition/page/266/mode/2up?view=theater 266] |via= [[Internet Archive]]}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Buchan|2006|p=89}}</ref> and was elected a member of the [[The Club (dining club)|Literary Club]] in 1775. ''The Wealth of Nations'' was published in 1776 and was an instant success, selling out its first edition in only six months.<ref name="Buchholz 19">{{harvnb|Buchholz|1999|p=19}}</ref>

In 1778, Smith was appointed to a post as commissioner of customs in Scotland and went to live with his mother (who died in 1784)<ref>{{cite book|last1=Durant|first1=Will|last2=Durant|first2=Ariel|title=The Story of Civilization: Rousseau and Revolution|year= 1967|publisher=MJF Books|isbn=1567310214|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/storyofcivilizat00dura_3}}</ref> in [[Panmure House (Edinburgh)|Panmure House]] in Edinburgh's [[Canongate]].<ref>{{harvnb|Buchan|2006|p=128}}</ref> Five years later, as a member of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh when it received its royal charter, he automatically became one of the founding members of the [[Royal Society of Edinburgh]].<ref>{{harvnb|Buchan|2006|p=133}}</ref> From 1787 to 1789, he occupied the honorary position of Lord [[Rector of the University of Glasgow]].<ref>{{harvnb|Buchan|2006|p=137}}</ref>