He was born in Edinburgh in 1778 and educated at the High School. He studied medicine at
St Andrews University graduating around 1798. He appears in
Edinburgh again in 1810 as a lecturer in chemistry. He later also lectured in
Materia Medica, Pharmacy and Natural Philosophy (Physics). In 1812 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh for his contributions to geology, his proposers being
Thomas Charles Hope,
Robert Jameson, and Sir
George Steuart Mackenzie. He was made a Fellow of the
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1815 and was also elected a Fellow of the
Royal Geographical Society of
London. He presented 28 papers to the Royal Society, the most important relating to proposals for a safety lamp for miners. He received his doctorate (MD) in 1814. He lived at 31 Nicolson Street in south Edinburgh and died there on 22 July 1820. ==Family==