Dr James Millar (or Miller) (1762–1827) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, botanist and author. He edited the fourth and fifth editions of the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

''. Although a good writer on scientific topics, he was deemed a poor chief editor of the ''Britannica'', being "slow and dilatory and not well qualified".

Life

He was born in

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

on the western Scottish coast on 4 February 1762. He studied classics and science at

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

. For some years he acted as tutor in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, and then was chaplain at Glasgow university. Moving to

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 ...

, he graduated M.D. and became fellow of the

Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...

. In 1820 he was elected a member of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh and in 1822 he was elected a 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 a ...

. He frequently lectured on natural history and chemistry, and was one of the physicians at the Edinburgh Dispensary, where he caught a fever and died 13 July 1827. He lived at 16 Brown Square in Edinburgh> He left a family.

Works

In 1807 Millar published with William Vazie ''Observations on the Advantages and Practicability of making Tunnels under Navigable Rivers, particularly applicable to the proposed Tunnel under the Forth'', Edinburgh. This work related to a plan for a tunnel from

Rosyth Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440. The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...

to Queensferry, also involving John Grieve.

Robert Bald Robert Bald FRSE FSA MWS (1776–1861) was a Scottish surveyor, civil and mining engineer, and antiquarian. Robert Bald was one of the earliest and most eminent mining engineers and land surveyors in Scotland, and by the late nineteenth century ...

was consulted, but the project came to nothing. Millar also edited the fourth edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 20 vols., Edinburgh, 1810, and the last fifteen volumes of the fifth edition of the same work, 20 vols., Edinburgh, 1817; he contributed largely to both editions. Millar also planned and edited a more popular dictionary of arts, sciences, and literature, the '' Encyclopædia Edinensis'', 6 vols., Edinburgh, 1827. Other publications, mainly based on articles already contributed to encyclopædias, included: * ''A Guide to Botany'', Edinburgh, 1819. * ''Elements of Chemistry'', Edinburgh, 1820. * ''Practical Observations on Cold and Warm Bathing, and descriptive Notices of Watering-places in Britain'', Edinburgh, 1821.

Artistic recognition

His portrait medallion by

John Henning (1771-1851) John Henning may refer to: *John Henning (1771–1851), snr, sculptor *John Henning (journalist) John Henning (May 22, 1937 – July 7, 2010) was an American news reporter and political analyst who spent many years on Boston television before be ...

is held in the

Scottish National Portrait Gallery The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. The gallery holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Co ...

References and footnotes

;Attribution

External links

Preface to the ''Encyclopædia Edinensis'', listing of contributors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millar, James Scottish book editors Scottish encyclopedists 1762 births 1827 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Contributors to the Encyclopædia Britannica 18th-century Scottish medical doctors 19th-century Scottish medical doctors 18th-century Scottish botanists 19th-century Scottish botanists Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge