John Wilson

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

FGS FCS LLD (1812–1888) was a 19th-century British agriculturalist.

Life

He was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in November 1812, the son of John Wilson and his wife, Matilda. He studied at

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

, with postgraduate studies of medicine and chemistry in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

under

Anselme Payen Anselme Payen (; 6 January 1795 – 12 May 1871) was a French chemist known for discovering the enzyme diastase, and the carbohydrate cellulose. Biography Payen was born in Paris. He began studying science with his father when he was a 13-yea ...

Jean-Baptiste Boussingault Jean-Baptiste Joseph Dieudonné Boussingault (2 February 1801 – 11 May 1887) was a French chemist who made significant contributions to agricultural science, petroleum science and metallurgy. Biography Jean-Baptiste Boussingault – an agric ...

and

Gay Lussac Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (, , ; 6 December 1778 – 9 May 1850) was a French chemist and physicist. He is known mostly for his discovery that water is made of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen (with Alexander von Humboldt), for two laws ...

. In 1846 Wilson became Principal of the

Royal Agricultural College ;(from Virgil's Georgics)"Caring for the Fieldsand the Beasts" , established = 2013 - University status – College , type = Public , president = King Charles , vice_chancellor = Peter McCaffery , students ...

Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...

. In 1847 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposer was John Haldane. He resigned his post at Cirencester in 1850, being replaced by the Rev. John Sayer Haygarth. In 1854 Wilson replaced Prof David Low as Professor of Agriculture and Rural Economy at

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 1886

awarded him an honorary doctorate (LLD). In Edinburgh he lived at 3 Whitehouse Terrace in the

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

. In 1868 he succeeded

Philip Kelland Philip Kelland PRSE FRS (17 October 1808 – 8 May 1879) was an English mathematician. He was known mainly for his great influence on the development of education in Scotland. Life Kelland was born in 1808 the son of Philip Kelland (d.1847), ...

as Secretary to the Edinburgh University Senate. Wilson retired in 1885 and died at Sandfield in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

on 27 March 1888.

Publications

*''The Agriculture of the French Exhibition'' (1855) *''Agriculture: Past and Present'' (1855) *''Our Farm Crops'' (1860) *''Report on the Present State of Agriculture in Scotland'' (1878)

Artistic recognition

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 ...

holds a sketch of Wilson teaching by William Hole dated 1884.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, John 1812 births 1888 deaths Alumni of University College London Academics of the University of Edinburgh British agriculturalists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh