Andrew Plummer FRCP (1697–1756) was a Scottish physician and chemist. He was professor of chemistry at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

from 1726 to 1755. He developed ideas on the attractive and repulsive forces involved in

chemical affinity In chemical physics and physical chemistry, chemical affinity is the electronic property by which dissimilar chemical species are capable of forming chemical compounds. Chemical affinity can also refer to the tendency of an atom or compound to comb ...

, which later had influence on his successors

William Cullen William Cullen FRS FRSE FRCPE FPSG (; 15 April 17105 February 1790) was a Scottish physician, chemist and agriculturalist, and professor at the Edinburgh Medical School. Cullen was a central figure in the Scottish Enlightenment: He was Dav ...

and

Joseph Black Joseph Black (16 April 1728 – 6 December 1799) was a Scottish physicist and chemist, known for his discoveries of magnesium, latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was Professor of Anatomy and Chemistry at the University of Glas ...

. He compounded "Plummer's pills", a mixture of

calomel Calomel is a mercury chloride mineral with formula Hg2Cl2 (see mercury(I) chloride). The name derives from Greek ''kalos'' (beautiful) and ''melas'' (black) because it turns black on reaction with ammonia. This was known to alchemists. Calomel o ...

and

antimony sulfide Antimony sulfide may refer to either of two compounds of antimony and sulfur: *Antimony trisulfide, Sb2S3 *Antimony pentasulfide Antimony pentasulfide is an inorganic compound of antimony and sulfur, also known as antimony red. It is a nonstoichi ...

with

guaiacum ''Guaiacum'' (''OED'' 2nd edition, 1989.Entry "guaiacum"
in
psoriasis Psoriasis is a long-lasting, noncontagious autoimmune disease characterized by raised areas of abnormal skin. These areas are red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly. Psoriasis varies in severity from small, localized patches to complete ...

but were used for more than a century as an antisyphilitic.Richard M. Swiderski, ''Calomel in America: Mercurial Panacea, War, Song and Ghosts'' (Universal Publishers, 2008; ), pp
115-118
/ref>

References

1697 births 1756 deaths Members of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh 18th-century Scottish medical doctors Scottish physicists Academics of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Leiden University alumni {{UK-chemist-stub