John Bell (1691–1780) was a Scottish doctor and traveller.

Life

Bell was born at Antermony, near

Milton of Campsie Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free ...

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirli ...

, in Scotland. He studied medicine in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, and in 1714, set out for

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, where, through the introduction of a fellow Scot, he was nominated medical attendant to

Artemy Volynsky Artemy Petrovich Volynsky (russian: Арте́мий Петро́вич Волы́нский; 1689–1740) was a Russian statesman and diplomat. His career started as a soldier but was rapidly upgraded to ambassador to Safavid Iran, and later as ...

, recently appointed to the Persian embassy, with whom he travelled from 1715 to 1718. The next four years, he spent in an embassy to China, passing through

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

and the great Tatar deserts. He had scarcely rested from this last journey when he was summoned to attend

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

in his expedition to

Derbent Derbent (russian: Дербе́нт; lez, Кьвевар, Цал; az, Дәрбәнд, italic=no, Dərbənd; av, Дербенд; fa, دربند), formerly romanized as Derbend, is a city in Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea. It is ...

and the Caspian Gates. In 1738, he was sent by the Russian government on a mission to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, returning in May to Saint Petersburg. It appears that after this he was for several years established as a merchant at Constantinople, where he married Mary Peters, a Russian lady, and returned to Scotland in 1746, where he spent the latter part of his life on his estate, enjoying the society of his friends. After a long life spent in active beneficence and philanthropic exertions, he died at Antermony on 1 July 1780, at the advanced age of 89. He is buried in Campsie Glen. His travels, published at

in 1763, were speedily translated into French and Russian, and widely circulated in Europe. His only work is ''Travels from St. Petersburg in Russia to various parts of Asia'' 1763, in two volumes printed by Robert and Andrew Foulis of Glasgow. The ''

Quarterly Review The ''Quarterly Review'' was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by 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 ...

'' says that Bell wished to obtain literary help in writing his book, and applied to Robertson, who could not help him, but advised him to take ''Gulliver's Travels'' for his model.''Quarterly Review''. 1817. pp. 464–465. The work was based on diaries kept by Bell during his travels. Although Bell's primary purpose for travel was as medical attendant, his book is highly descriptive and, due to its wide circulation, an important contribution to travel writing about Siberia in the 18th-century.

References

Bibliography

* * * 18th-century explorers 18th-century Scottish people 18th-century Scottish writers 1691 births 1780 deaths Explorers of Siberia People from Milton of Campsie Scottish explorers Scottish travel writers {{Scotland-med-bio-stub