He was born in
Bogside, North Lanarkshire on 10 March 1848, the son of Sarah Whitehead (1805-1888), and her husband the elderly Alexander Steuart (1789-1865). He studied chemistry at the
University of Edinburgh under Prof
Alexander Crum Brown. He then undertook postgraduate studies in
Glasgow and
Munich before joining the Oakbank Oil Works under
George Beilby. In 1877 he was appointed Chief Chemist of the newly created
Broxburn Oil Company. In 1916 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were
John Horne,
Leonard Dobbin,
Robert Kidston, and
John Smith Flett. He lived at 11 Melville Crescent in Edinburgh's West End. He retired in 1920 and died at 20 Hillview,
Blackhall, Edinburgh on 1 August 1925. ==Family==