Forrest Dewar

FRCSEd The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The College has seven active faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical practices. Its main campus is located o ...

(1748–1817) was an 18th/19th century Scottish surgeon who served as President of the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The College has seven active faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical practices. Its main campus is located on ...

for the period 1786 to 1788.

Life

He was born on 1 October 1748 the son of John Dewar and Elizabeth Jean Forrest. In 1773 Dewar was a founding member of the

Aesculapian Club The Aesculapian Club of Edinburgh is one of the oldest medical dining clubs in the world. It was founded in April 1773 by Dr. Andrew Duncan. Membership of the Club is limited to 11 Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh ...

. In 1782 Dewar was one of the founding members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh and served as President in 1790 and 1814. In 1783 he was living and working from the Luckenbooths next to

St Giles Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. In 1786 he is listed as a Manager of the Edinburgh Dispensary alongside Dr

Benjamin Bell Benjamin Bell of Hunthill FRSE FRCSEd (6 September 1749 – 5 April 1806) is considered to be the first Scottish scientific surgeon. He is commonly described as the father of the Edinburgh school of surgery,Richardson BWS, Martin MSM. Discipl ...

, James Hunter and

Thomas Elder Sir Thomas Elder, (5 August 1818 – 6 March 1897), was a Scottish-Australian pastoralist, highly successful businessman, philanthropist, politician, race-horse owner and breeder, and public figure. Amongst many other things, he is notable fo ...

. In 1786 he replaced Dr Thomas Hay as President of the

and he was succeeded in turn in 1788 by Dr

Andrew Wardrop Andrew Wardrop FRCSEd (c.1740–1789) was an 18th-century Scottish surgeon who served as President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh for the period 1788 to 1789. Life In 1783 he was living at 2 Princes Street then a newly built ho ...

. In 1801 he is recorded as living at 9 Hunter Square, off the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...

Edinburgh's Old Town The Old Town ( sco, Auld Toun) is the name popularly given to the oldest part of Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh. The area has preserved much of its medieval street plan and many Reformation-era buildings. Together with the 18th/19th-cent ...

. In the same year he appears as an expert witness in the court case Rollo v Irving. In 1816 he appears contesting a case against Young & Co in the High Court, heard by

Robert Craigie, Lord Craigie Robert Craigie, Lord Craigie (1754–1834) was an 18th/19th century Scottish lawyer who rose to be a Lord of Session and Senator of the College of Justice. Life He was born in Dunbarney House the second son of Anne Craigie and her husband a ...

, disputing rights to build in the rear garden areas along Princes Street. He died on 9 September 1817 at his home, 59

Princes Street Princes Street ( gd, Sràid nam Prionnsan) is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three ...

. He is buried in

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a num ...

Family

In 1789 he married Anne Campbell Stewart. They had four daughters and one son. His son John Dewar married Elizabeth Burnet Innes, the illegitimate daughter of Gilbert Innes of Stow.

References

1748 births 1817 deaths Medical doctors from Edinburgh Scottish surgeons Presidents of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard {{Scotland-med-bio-stub