Grave of Colin Maclaurin

 History of Astronomy, History of Science, Mathematics  2 Responses »
Apr 172016
 

Greyfriars Cemetery, Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh EH1 2QQ

Tomb of Colin Maclaurin

Tomb of Colin Maclaurin

Colin Maclaurin was an important figure of the first years of the Scottish Enlightenment.  He was an early champion of Newtonianism, who was given the chair of mathematics at the University of Edinburgh in 1725 at Isaac Newton’s own recommendation. Maclaurin and a number of like-minded colleagues made Edinburgh into what was probably the most important centre for the dissemination of Newtonian ideas in Britain after the death of Newton himself. He famously defended Newton’s calculus against the philosophical objections of Bishop Berkeley. MacLaurin was also one of the early proponents of Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh, having campaigned for building an astronomical observatory, as well as raising funds for this project (totalling £285 in 1748!).

Portrait of Colin Maclaurin

Colin Maclaurin (1698–1746)

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James Hutton Memorial Garden

 History of Geology, History of Science  Comments Off on James Hutton Memorial Garden
Apr 172016
 

St John’s Hill, 10 Viewcraig Gardens, Edinburgh EH8 9UQ

The James Hutton Memorial Garden

Hidden away just off the Pleasance is the Hutton Memorial Garden, on the site of the house where James Hutton lived till his death in 1797. it incorporates stones from localities that were important in the development of Hutton’s geological theories. Hutton believed that the continents were being slowly ground down and carried to the sea to be deposited as sand and mud. The internal heat of the earth then consolidated these deposits and raised them up to form new land. Hutton believed this cycle  continued indefinitely, leaving ‘no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end’.

James Hutton (1726–97).

James Hutton (1726–97).

Hutton's famous unconformity, Jedburgh.

Hutton’s famous unconformity, Jedburgh. Two layers of rocks can be seen lying at different angles one on top of the other.

Plaque in the Hutton Memorial Garden.

Plaque in the Hutton Memorial Garden.

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The Royal Society of Edinburgh

 History of Astronomy, History of Science  Comments Off on The Royal Society of Edinburgh
Apr 172016
 

22-26 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2PQ

The Royal Society of Edinburgh at 22-26 George Street

The Royal Society of Edinburgh at 22-26 George Street

The Royal Society of Edinburgh was set up in imitation of the Royal Society of London in 1783. It has been at its present location since 1909, having originally met in the college library of the University of Edinburgh. Its fellows have included such illustrious names as John Clerk Maxwell, Roderick Murchison, James Watt and Sir Walter Scott, who was its third president. Although originally scientific in orientation, it now accepts many famous names from the arts and humanities. The Society still continues its work of promoting original research in Scotland today.

Free public access to the foyer. Tours of the rest of the building may sometimes be available on request at the reception, depending on the availability of staff.

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The Oyster Club

 Chemistry, History of Science, Scottish Enlightenment  4 Responses »
Apr 172016
 

8-12 Niddry Street South, Edinburgh, EH1 1NS

The Oyster Club This weekly dining club for scientists and philosophers met regularly throughout the 1770s. It had been established by the great economist and political philosopher Adam Smith, the chemist Joseph Black and the geologist James Hutton. The club was attended by a veritable constellation of Edinburgh’s most brilliant thinkers, including John Playfair, Adam Ferguson, David Hume and Sir James Hall. It also payed host to a wide variety of visiting international scientists, including the French geologist Barthélémy Faujas de Saint Fond, James Watt the engineer and inventor from Glasgow, and Benjamin Franklin the American scientist and inventor.

Now a private venue – no free public access.

City Observatory

 History of Astronomy, History of Physics, History of Science  Comments Off on City Observatory
Apr 172016
 

38 Calton Hill, Edinburgh, EH7 5AA

The City Observatory on Calton Hill

The City Observatory on Calton Hill

An observatory on Calton Hill was first proposed by Colin Maclaurin, Edinburgh’s professor of mathematics, in 1736. However, these plans came to nothing until Thomas Short brought a 12-foot reflecting telescope to the city in 1776, with the intention of opening a public observatory as a commercial enterprise. The university helped him with the cost of building the observatory on condition it was open to students. Short’s observatory became the property of the city on his death, but his daughter Maria Theresa ran her own observatory on Calton Hill before moving to a new site on Castlehill in 1850. Today, the site is run by the Collective, a centre for contemporary art.

Black and white illustration of the Gothic Tower at the Edinburgh City Observatory on Calton Hill, 1792.

The Gothic Tower at the Edinburgh City Observatory on Calton Hill, 1792.

Black and white illustration of the Playfair Building at the Edinburgh City Observatory on Calton Hill, 1824, with people walking and sitting in front of the building.

The Playfair Building at the Edinburgh City Observatory on Calton Hill, 1824.

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Edinburgh Physic Garden

 History of Medicine, History of Science  Comments Off on Edinburgh Physic Garden
Mar 082016
 

Site of Edinburgh physic gardenPlatform 11, Waverley Station, Edinburgh EH1 1BB

From 1675 to 1763 the Edinburgh Physic Garden was near what is now platform 11 of Waverley Station. At the time it was close to the shores of a small lake, the Nor’ Loch. The site is now marked with a blue plaque. The garden had originally been established at Holyrood in 1670 by Sir Robert Sibbald and Sir Andrew Balfour, founder members of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. They were inspired to found it by similar gardens they had seen in France. It existed to provide medicinal plants and to teach botany to medical students.

 

Physic Garden commemorative plaque, Waverley Station

Plaque commemorating the site of Edinburgh’s physic garden, opposite platform 11, Waverley Station.

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Joseph Black’s house

 History of Medicine, History of Science, Psychology  2 Responses »
Mar 082016
 

13 Sylvan Place, Edinburgh EH9 1LH

Joseph Black's house

Up an alleyway here you will find the house where the great chemist Joseph Black lived in around 1740. To get to the university from here Black only had to walk across the Meadows, where he often took a stroll with his friends the economist and political philosopher Adam Smith and the geologist James Hutton. Among his important contributions to chemistry were the discovery of carbon dioxide and latent heat. He discovered the latter principle when he observed that applying heat to boiling water produces more steam, but does not raise its temperature above its boiling point.

No public access.

 

Portrait of Joseph Black (1728–99).

Commemorative plaque on Joseph Black’s house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Phrenological Museum

 History of Science  5 Responses »
Mar 082016
 

Crown Office, 25 Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1LA

phrenology museumUntil 1886 this was the site of Edinburgh’s phrenological museum, founded by the president of the Edinburgh Phrenological Society, George Combes. Phrenologists believed that people’s characters were determined by the development of the ‘organs’ of the brain, which could by read by examining the shapes of their skulls. It represented an early attempt to explain the human mind in terms of the physical structure of the brain. The carved stone heads on the exterior of the building reflected its occupants interest in the shapes of people’s craniums.

No public access.

V0001202 George Combe. Stipple engraving by C. H. Jeens, 1878, after Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images images@wellcome.ac.uk http://wellcomeimages.org George Combe. Stipple engraving by C. H. Jeens, 1878, after Sir D. Macnee. 1878 By: Daniel MacNeeafter: Charles Henry JeensPublished: - Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

George Combe (1788–1848).

L0022893 George Combe, names of phrenological organs, 1836 Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images images@wellcome.ac.uk http://wellcomeimages.org Names of the phrenological organs Outlines of phrenology George A. Combe Published: 1836 Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The phrenological organs, from George Combe, Outlines of Phrenology (1836).

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Robert Knox’s anatomy school

 History of Medicine, History of Science  Comments Off on Robert Knox’s anatomy school
Mar 042016
 

10 Surgeon’s Square, Edinburgh EH1 1LZ

surgeon's square

At number 10 Surgeon’s Square Robert Knox ran his extra-mural anatomy school from the death of its original proprietor, John Barclay, in 1826 until 1844. Knox bought the bodies of many of the victims of Burke and Hare. He was a flamboyant character, whose controversial views made him popular with his students. Although he was found innocent of any involvement in the murders, the scandal ruined his career. Robert Grant, who taught invertebrate zoology in the same school, was an early evolutionary thinker and friend of Charles Darwin while a student in Edinburgh in 1825-27.

No public access.

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