David Ure (1749 – 28 March 1798), was a Scottish geologist. He has been called "the father of Scottish palaeontology"; his book ''The History of Rutherglen and East-Kilbride'' contains the first illustrations of fossils in Scotland.

Life

Ure was born in Glasgow and baptised there on 30 March 1749; he was the eldest of nine children of Patrick Ure, a weaver, and his wife Isabell Malcolm. His father died while he was still young, and he worked as a weaver to support his mother. He resolved to enter the ministry, and obtained an education at Glasgow Grammar School, and afterwards at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

(while still a weaver), where he graduated M.A. in 1776; at the university the Greek professor, James Moor, turned his attention to the undeveloped science of geology. While a student in divinity he was for some time assistant schoolmaster at

Stewarton Stewarton ( sco, Stewartoun,
gd, Baile nan Stiùbhar ...

, and afterwards he taught a

subscription school A subscription school was a type of private school that operated in the 19th century in rural areas of the United States before the rise of common schools, and also in parts of the United Kingdom. The funding model of subscription schools differ ...

in the neighbourhood of Dumbarton. In 1783 he was licensed to preach by the presbytery of Glasgow, and became assistant to David Connell, minister of

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...

in Lanarkshire. During his residence in the parish he made researches into its history, and devoted himself particularly to the study of its mineral strata. In 1793 he published the results in ''The History of Rutherglen and East-Kilbride''. The book was supported by public subscription; the geologists James Hutton and

John Playfair John Playfair FRSE, FRS (10 March 1748 – 20 July 1819) was a Church of Scotland minister, remembered as a scientist and mathematician, and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He is best known for his book ''Illu ...

were among the 700 subscribers. It contains the first scientific descriptions of many fossils, and the first illustrations of fossils in Scotland."The Reverend David Ure 1750–1798"
scottishgeology.com. Retrieved 22 March 2020. On the death of Connell in 1790, Ure had some expectation of being appointed his successor, but, finding the parish not unanimous, he set off for Newcastle-upon-Tyne on foot, and acted for some time as assistant in the presbyterian church there. He remained there until in Scotland he attracted the attention of

Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster, 1st Baronet, (10 May 1754 – 21 December 1835), was a British politician, a writer on both finance and agriculture, and was one of the first people to use the word ''statistics'' in the English language, in h ...

, who employed him in preparing the first sketches of the agricultural surveys of the counties of

Roxburgh Roxburgh () is a civil parish and formerly a royal burgh, in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at leas ...

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

and

Kinross Kinross (, gd, Ceann Rois) is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, around south of Perth and around northwest of Edinburgh. It is the traditional county town of the historic county of Kinross-shire. History Kinross's origins are conn ...

for his '' Statistical Account of Scotland''. Ure's treatises were published separately by the Board of Agriculture, the first two in 1794 and the last in 1797. He oversaw the publication of several of the later volumes of the ''Statistical Account'', and drew up the general indices. In appreciation of his work in December 1795 he was presented by

David Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

to the parish of

Uphall Uphall ( sco, Uphauch, gd, Ubhalaidh) is a village in West Lothian, Scotland. It is a swiftly growing village in a conurbation with Broxburn to the east, Dechmont to the west and the major town of Livingston to the south west. Uphall is 30 mil ...

Linlithgow Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a ...

. He was ordained in July 1796. On 28 March 1798 he died of

dropsy Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...

at Uphall; he was buried in the Erskine family vault, at St Nicholas Kirk in the village.

References

Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ure, David 1741 births 1798 deaths Scientists from Glasgow Scottish geologists