Arthur Edmondston, M.D. (1776–1841)
was a Scottish physician and writer in the
Shetland Isles
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
The islands lie about to the ...
.
Life
Edmondston, eldest son of Laurence Edmondston of
Hascosay, surgeon in
Lerwick, and Mary Sanderson of
Buness, Shetland, was born about 1776 in Lerwick. The family of Edmondston is one of the oldest in Shetland. Edmondston's father for most of his long life was the only medical practitioner in the islands. Arthur adopted his father's profession, entered the army, and served under
Sir Ralph Abercromby
Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Abercromby (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British Army, was appointed Governor of Trinidad, served as Commander-in-Chief, Ir ...
in Egypt.
Returning to Lerwick he succeeded to his father's practice, and died unmarried in 1841. He was a skilful physician, giving special attention to diseases of the eye. Edmondston was the brother of Dr.
Laurence Edmondston.
Works
Edmondston wrote two treatises on
ophthalmia
Ophthalmia (also called ophthalmitis) is inflammation of the eye. It results in congestion of the eyeball, often eye-watering, redness and swelling, itching and burning, and a general feeling of irritation under the eyelids. Ophthalmia can have d ...
, published respectively in London, 1802, and Edinburgh, 1806. His major work was his ''View of the Ancient and Present State of the Zetland Islands'', published in 1809 in two volumes. The book discusses the political and natural history of Shetland, its agriculture, fisheries, commerce, antiquities, and customs.
References
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edmondston, Arthur
1776 births
1841 deaths
18th-century Scottish writers
19th-century Scottish writers
Shetland writers
Scottish medical writers
18th-century Scottish medical doctors
19th-century Scottish medical doctors
People from Lerwick