John Somerville (1774–1837) was an early 19th century Scottish minister of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

who also had sporting links to

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

. He invented the safety catch on guns in 1824.

Life

Born on the Dalmeny estate (west of Edinburgh) in 1774, Somerville was an agricultural worker in the employ of Neil Primrose, the

Earl of Rosebery Earl of Rosebery is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created in 1703 for Archibald Primrose, 1st Viscount of Rosebery, with remainder to his issue male and female successively. Its name comes from Roseberry Topping, a hill near Archibald's wif ...

. Between 1785 and 1788 he injured his spine, rendering him incapable of hard farm labour. However (probably under the patronage of Primrose for reason either of guilt or generosity) his fees were paid to attend

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1582 ...

. In 1801 he began teaching Classics at

George Heriot's School George Heriot's School is a Scottish independent primary and secondary day school on Lauriston Place in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the early 21st century, it has more than 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff, and 80 non-teaching staff ...

in central

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 ...

and became "House Governor" in 1805 with a reputation for "a happy mixture of severity and gentleness" and was a popular master.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott Somerville was licensed to preach as a minister of the

by the Presbytery of

Linlithgow Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a ...

in 1809 and was ordained as minister of

Currie Currie ( gd, Currach, IPA: �kʰuːᵲəx is a village and suburb on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated south west of the city centre. Formerly within the County of Midlothian, it now falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edi ...

Parish Church in 1815 following the death of Rev James Dick. Edinburgh University awarded him an MA in 1816.

St Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

awarded him an honorary doctorate in Divinity (DD) in 1833. In August 1822 he was the minister who served at the laying of the foundation stone of the

National Monument, Edinburgh The National Monument of Scotland, on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, is Scotland's national memorial to the Scottish soldiers and sailors who died fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. It was intended, according to the inscription, to be "A Memorial of ...

a massive public ceremony headed by King George IV. He died on 7 June 1837. He was unmarried and had no children.

Inventions

In 1824, following the loss of a friend in a hunting accident, he invented and patented one of the world's first safety catches for use on

flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking lock (firearm), ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism its ...

weapons. The principle was readily applicable to all firing mechanisms. Critically this required simultaneous pressure at two points to avoid accidentally placing the gun in an unsafe condition. The invention self-evidently has saved thousands of lives. A keen curler, he invented/devised: the iron tee, the justice, the counter, the toe-see and crampits. Curling saw a surge in interest from 1815, coinciding with Somerville's arrival in Currie. Currie had a pre-existing pond but Somerville made his own custom-made pond and to a large degree re-invented the sport. It may have suited his disability. He was founder and President of the Currie Curling Club in 1830. In relation to safety in curling (which had suffered several deaths of persons falling through ice into water) he advocated purpose-built curling ponds which incorporated shallow ponds (around 200 to 300mm) atop a paved surface. He created a curling pond near Johnsburn House in Balerno and gifted this to the village (later known as Malleny Curling Pond). This not only had a separate "play zone" but also had a formal area around to permit organised spectation.

Recognition

"Somerville Road" in

Balerno Balerno (; gd, Baile Àirneach, IPA: �paleˈɛːɾʲnəx Scots: Balerno or Balernie) is a village on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland situated south-west of the city centre, next to Currie and then Juniper Green. Traditionally in the cou ...

(just west of Currie) is named after him.

Publications

*On the Methods of Preventing the Accidental Discharge of Weapons (1825) *Sermon on Cruelty to Animals (1827) *Essay on the Safety Gun (1828) *The Duty of Relieving Strangers in Distress (1834) *Essay on the Construction, Advantages, and Mode of Using Dr Somerville's Patent Safety Gun (1835)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somerville, John 1774 births 1837 deaths People from Midlothian Scottish inventors 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland