James Gregory

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 ...

FRCPE 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 ...

(January 17532 April 1821) was a Scottish physician and

classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

Early life and education

The eldest son of John Gregory (1724–1773) and Elizabeth Forbes (died 1761), he was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

. He was educated at

Aberdeen Grammar School Aberdeen Grammar School is a state secondary school in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of thirteen secondary schools run by the Aberdeen City Council educational department. It is the oldest school in the city and one of the oldest grammar school ...

, King's College,

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

, the

University of Edinburgh 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 15 ...

(MD 1774), the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, and

Leyden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

. He accompanied his family 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 ...

in 1764, and after going through the usual course of literary studies at that university, he was for a short time a student at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. It was there probably that he acquired that taste for classical learning which afterwards distinguished him. He studied medicine at Edinburgh, and, after graduating doctor of medicine in 1774, spent the greater part of the next two years in Leiden, Paris, and in Italy.

Medicine in Edinburgh

Shortly after his return to Scotland, he was appointed in 1776 to the chair his father had formerly held, and in the following year he also entered on the duties of teacher of clinical medicine in the

Edinburgh Royal Infirmary The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, or RIE, often (but incorrectly) known as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest v ...

. In 1783 Gregory was one of the founders 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 ...

. On the illness of

William Cullen William Cullen FRS FRSE FRCPE FPSG (; 15 April 17105 February 1790) was a Scottish physician, chemist and agriculturalist, and professor at the Edinburgh Medical School. Cullen was a central figure in the Scottish Enlightenment: He was Dav ...

in 1790, he was appointed joint-professor of the practice of medicine, and he became the head of the School of Medicine at the

on the death of Dr. Cullen in the same year. As a medical practitioner Gregory was for the last ten years of his life at the head of the profession in Scotland (for part of which time he was in partnership with Thomas Brown, M.D.). He was president 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 ...

from 1798 to 1801. His indiscretion in publishing certain private proceedings of the college led to suspension of his fellowship on 13 May 1809.

Works

The grave of James Gregory, Canongate Churchyard, Edinburgh

Besides his ''Conspectus medicinae theoreticae'', published in 1788 as a text-book for his lectures on the institutes, Gregory was the author of ''"A Theory of the Moods of Verbs"'', published in the Edin. Phil. Trans. (1787), and of ''Literary and Philosophical Essays'', published in two volumes in 1792.

Family

He married twice. His first wife, Mary Ross, died in 1784. They had no children. He had a daughter named Sarah Gregory born in 1784. In 1796 he married Isabella Macleod (1772–1847). They had 11 children: John Gregory (1797–1869), an advocate; Hugh Gregory (1799–1811);

James Crawford Gregory Dr James Crawford Gregory FRSE (1801-1832) was a Scottish physician and part of the Gregory family of notable physicians and scientists. His middle name is sometimes spelled as Craufurd. Life Gregory was born at 2 St Andrew Square in Edinburgh ...

(1801–1832), a doctor; William Gregory (1803–1858), a doctor and his twin

Donald Gregory Donald Gregory (1803–1836) was a Scottish historian and antiquarian, who published a valuable history of the Western Scottish Highlands, Highlands and Isles of Scotland. Origins Gregory was a younger son of James Gregory (physician), Dr James ...

(1803–1836), an antiquary; Jane Macleod (1805–1813); Elizabeth Forbes (1808–1811); Margaret Craufurd/Crawford (1809–1849), who married her first cousin,

William Pulteney Alison William Pulteney Alison FRSE FRCPE FSA (12 November 1790 – 22 September 1859) was a Scottish physician, social reformer and philanthropist. He was a distinguished professor of medicine at the University of Edinburgh. He served as president ...

(1790–1859); Georgina (1811–1877);

Duncan Farquharson Gregory Duncan Farquharson Gregory (13 April 181323 February 1844) was a Scottish mathematician. Education Gregory was born in Aberdeen on 13 April 1813, the youngest son of Isabella Macleod (1772–1847) and James Gregory (1753–1821). He was taught ...

(1813–1844), a mathematician; and Isabella (1816–1818). The family lived together in their father's huge Georgian townhouse at 10 Ainslie Place on the Moray Estate in the eastern New Town of Edinburgh. James had bought the property as a brand new house shortly before his death. His second wife's sister, Mary Macleod, was married to

Sir George Mackenzie, 7th Baronet Sir George Steuart Mackenzie, 7th Baronet FRS FRSE FSA (22 June 1780–26 October 1848) was a Scottish geologist, chemist and agricultural improver. Life The only son of Major General Sir Alexander Mackenzie of Coul (d.1796), a General in ...

Death

Gregory died after being run over by a horse and carriage in St Andrew Square in

on 2 April 1821 and was buried in

Canongate Kirkyard The Canongate Kirkyard ( en, Churchyard) stands around Canongate Kirk on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland. The churchyard was used for burials from the late 1680s until the mid-20th century. The most celebrated burials at the kirkyard are ...

on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...

. His wife and most of his children are buried with him. The grave lies in the extreme south-west corner, immediately to the right hand side of Adam Smith's grave.

References

* Clarke, N.
''Dorothea Alison (née Gregory) (1754–1830)''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

2004 (Subscription required) * Jacyna, L.S.
''William Pulteney Alison (1790–1859)''

2004 (Subscription required) * Lawrence, P.
'' Gregory, James (1753–1821)''

2004 (Subscription required) * Stewart, Agnes Grainger
''The Academic Gregories.''
Edinburgh:

Oliphant, Anderson and Ferrier Oliphant, Anderson and Ferrier was a Scottish publishing company based in the national capital Edinburgh. It produced many hundreds of books mainly on religious and biographical themes, especially during its heyday from about 1880 to 1910. It is ...

, 1901, ( "Famous Scots Series") {{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, James 1753 births 1821 deaths Scientists from Aberdeen 18th-century Scottish medical doctors 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Burials at the Canongate Kirkyard People educated at Aberdeen Grammar School Founder Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Members of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh Scottish classical scholars Academics of the University of Edinburgh Leiden University alumni Académie Nationale de Médecine Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford