John Corse Scott FRS (born Corse; 12 July 1756 – 12 September 1840) was a Scottish surgeon in the

Indian Medical Service The Indian Medical Service (IMS) was a military medical service in British India, which also had some civilian functions. It served during the two World Wars, and remained in existence until the independence of India in 1947. Many of its officer ...

, a naturalist, and landowner in

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

Life

John Corse of Bughtrig was born in 1756, the son of Richard Corse and Marion Stark. The Corses of Bughtrig were a

cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

of the family of Carmyle, Lanarkshire. On 1 September 1779, Corse joined the British Navy as a Hospital Mate (

loblolly boy Loblolly boy is the informal name given to the assistants to a ship's surgeon aboard British and American warships during the Age of Sail. The name derives from a porridge traditionally served to sick or injured crew members. The term is no longe ...

) assigned to the South Fencible Regiment and served in that capacity until the regiment was disbanded in April 1783. He was also an Ensign from 1781 to April 1783. He obtained his Certificate of Corporation of Surgeons in 1783. Corse was promoted to Assistant Surgeon on 22 May 1796 and to Surgeon on 22 May 1796. In 1799 his article ''Observations on the different Species of Asiatic Elephants, and their Mode of Dentition'' was published. According to one source, he retired from the Indian Medical Service on 30 July 1800. On 16 January 1800, he was elected F.R.S. In 1800, he married Catherine Scott of Sinton (or Synton) and changed his name to John Corse Scott (or Corse-Scott) of Sinton. The marriage produced six sons and three daughters. In the 1820s he was a member of the board of directors of the Edinburgh Oil Gas-Light Company. In the 1830s, he lived at 48 Moray Place, a huge Georgian townhouse on the

Moray Estate The Moray Estate in Edinburgh was an exclusive early 19th century building venture attaching the west side of Edinburgh's New Town. Built on an awkward and steeply sloping site, it has been described as a masterpiece of urban planning. Back ...

in western

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 ...

.Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1836 He died in

Ashkirk Ashkirk is a small village on the Ale Water, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is located just off the A7 road (Great Britain), A7 road, approximately each way between Selkirk, Scottish Borders, Selkirk to the north and Hawick to the ...

, Roxburghshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corse Scott, John 1756 births 1840 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society Indian Medical Service officers Scottish landowners