Edward Meldrum FRSE DL (1821–1875) was a Scottish chemist who was partner to James Young in his oil and paraffin ventures creating the company Young & Meldrum and the independent company of Meldrum & Co in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Life

He was born in 1821 in Kirkcaldy in Fife. He was educated at Kirkcaldy and then St Andrews. He gained early experience at Muspratt's Chemical Works in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

. Here in 1842 he encountered and befriended the company's manager, James Young. In 1848 he went into partnership with Young in the petrol works at

Alfreton Alfreton ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. The town was formerly a Norman Manor and later an Urban District. The population of the Alfreton parish was 7,971 at the 2011 Census. The villages of Ir ...

discovered by

Lyon Playfair Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair (1 May 1818 – 29 May 1898) was a British scientist and Liberal politician who was Postmaster-General from 1873 to 1874. Early life Playfair was born at Chunar, Bengal, the son of George Playfair (1782-1846 ...

. When Young made his famous paraffin discoveries near

Bathgate Bathgate ( sco, Bathket or , gd, Both Chèit) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston, Scotland, Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Armadale, West Lothian, Armadale, Blackburn, ...

it was Meldrum with whom he formed a business partnership to extract the paraffin. In 1855 he was running the oil firm of Meldrum & Co from 33, 35 Great Dovehill in Glasgow. In 1863 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers was

. In 1866 he formed with P McLagan MP to create the

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 ...

Mineral Company. At this time he acquired and rebuilt Dechmont House nearby, renaming it Dechmont Castle. He was Deputy Lieutenant of

Linlithgowshire West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...

. He died at home in

Dechmont Dechmont (Gaelic: ''Deagh Mhonadh'') is a small village located near Uphall, West Lothian in Scotland. Bangour Village Hospital is located to the west of Dechmont. It has an approximate population of 989 people. Its postal code is EH52. An allege ...

on 13 June 1875.

Family

He was married with four children.

Artistic Recognition

His marble bust sculpted by

William Brodie William Brodie (28 September 1741 – 1 October 1788), often known by his title of Deacon Brodie, was a Scottish cabinet-maker, deacon of a trades guild, and Edinburgh city councillor, who maintained a secret life as a housebreaker, partly fo ...

was presented to

Town Hall in 1876 by James Young.

References

1821 births 1875 deaths People from Kirkcaldy Scottish chemists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 19th-century Scottish businesspeople {{UK-chemist-stub