Dr George Smyttan
FRSE (1789–1863) was a 19th-century Scottish physician who helped to run the Medical Missionary Society in India.
Life
He was born in
Dunkeld
Dunkeld (, sco, Dunkell, from gd, Dùn Chailleann, "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to t ...
on 17 June 1789. He was educated at Dunkeld Grammar School.
He studied Medicine at St Andrews and Edinburgh but received his doctorate (MD) from
Aberdeen University
, mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
, established =
, type = Public research universityAncient university
, endowment = £58.4 million (2021)
, budget ...
. He was licensed as a surgeon by 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 o ...
. In 1808 (aged 19) he began work as a Surgeon for the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
based in Bombay in India rising to be Head of the Medical Board for the Bombay district. He returned to Scotland in 1839 and was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1841. His proposer was
Robert Christison
Sir Robert Christison, 1st Baronet, (18 July 1797 – 27 January 1882) was a Scottish toxicologist and physician who served as president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (1838–40 and 1846-8) and as president of the British ...
.
In
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
he lived and practiced from 20 Melville Street in the West End of the city.
He appears to also have had property in
Ross & Cromarty and was an elder of the Free Church of Scotland in
Tain. He also retained property at Birnam near Dunkeld.
He had a seizure in September 1854 which left him paralysed. He died at Canaan Park (a villa he purchased in 1860) in south Edinburgh on Christmas Day 25 December 1863.
Family
His wife (a Miss Hunt) is later referred to simply as Mrs Smyttan.
His sister Jane Smyttan married Dandeson Coates Bell
His son, Rev George Hunt Smyttan (1824-1870), married Frances Hardy Grey.
References
1786 births
1863 deaths
People from Perthshire
Scottish surgeons
British East India Company
Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
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