Patrick Blair FRS (ca.1670–1728) was a Scottish surgeon, anatomist and botanist, and a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Life

It is uncertain when he was born. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography suggests he was born in Lethendy, near

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

in 1675. Others suggest that he was born in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

in 1666. In a letter dated 1719, Blair mentioned that he had been in practice for 28 years; this would suggest a birth-date of at least 48 years earlier, therefore prior to 1672. He trained as a surgeon and spent some time in the Netherlands learning his trade, possibly with the British Army. He returned to Dundee shortly before 1702 and set up as a surgeon-apothecary. In 1702, he married Elizabeth Whyte, from which marriage four children were born – John, Henry, Elizabeth and Isabell. In 1706 Blair dissected an elephant which had died on the road between

Broughty Ferry Broughty Ferry (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Bruach Tatha''; Scots: ''Brochtie'') is a suburb of Dundee, Scotland. It is situated four miles east of the city centre on the north bank of the Firth of Tay. The area was a separate burgh from 1864 until ...

and Dundee. The elephant (which was a female Indian one, around 26 years old ) was being toured around Scotland and England by a Dutch showman named Abraham Sever; it died on Saturday 27th April 1706Patrick Blair, Osteographia Elephantina, 1712, p.55 (nb this was the date in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

, which was at that time 11 days behind the Julian calendar.) Over a period of weeks, Blair dissected the elephant, taking careful note of all the bones, muscles and organs, and then had the resultant skeleton mounted for public display. He then wrote a full description, under the title of ''Osteographia Elephantina'', which he sent to

Hans Sloane Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet (16 April 1660 – 11 January 1753), was an Irish physician, naturalist, and collector, with a collection of 71,000 items which he bequeathed to the British nation, thus providing the foundation of the British Mu ...

of the

Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in April 1709; this was published in the Society’s Journal (Philosophical Transactions) in two parts in 1710. In 1707 he dissected and prepared the skeleton of a porter who had hanged himself in the stairway of St Andrews University and this was placed in the Anatomy lecture room from 1722. Blair received 100

merks The merk is a long-obsolete Scottish silver coin. Originally the same word as a money mark of silver, the merk was in circulation at the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century. It was originally valued at 13 shillings 4 pence (exactly ...

for this work. In 1708, he founded a Natural History Society in Dundee, and several botanical collections were displayed in a ‘Physic Garden’ - later to expand to a ‘Hall of Rarities’. This was situated somewhere near the Nethergate in Dundee. In 1712 the family moved to the small town of

Coupar Angus Coupar Angus (; Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Cùbar Aonghais'') is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, south of Blairgowrie and Rattray, Blairgowrie. The name Coupar Angus serves to differentiate the town from Cupar, Fife. The town was traditi ...

. In 1715 Blair joined the rebellion led by the

Earl of Mar There are currently two earldoms of Mar in the Peerage of Scotland, and the title has been created seven times. The first creation of the earldom is currently held by Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar, who is also clan chief of Clan Mar. The ...

and travelled with the Jacobite army when it marched into England. He was captured at the Battle of Preston in November 1715 and imprisoned at

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...

in London. Despite claiming that he had been forced to join the rebel army, he was sentenced to death, but was given a last-minute reprieve in April 1716 after appeals by Hans Sloane and other members of the Royal Society. He stayed in London until April 1720 and continued to publish scientific works, including an account of pyloric stenosis in the ''Philosophical Transactions'' in 1717, probably the earliest account of that condition. He and his family settled in

Boston, Lincolnshire Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Boston is north of London, north-east of Peterborough, east of Nottingham, south-east of Lincoln, south-southeast of Hull ...

, where he devoted himself to botanical research., publishing several books and delivering papers before the Royal Society. His Botanick Essays of 1720 were well received and arguably the book by which he is best known . In 1723, he published the first volume of a work which described all the plants in the British Isles – his ''Pharmaco-Botanologia''. He had reached the letter H when he died in February 1728.

Honours

In 1712, he was awarded an MD degree from King's College, the

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 ...

. On 1 December 1712, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of London List of fellows of the Royal Society elected in 1712

Publications

''Note that all of the articles written by Blair for the Royal Society are available online a

' * Osteographia Elephantina: or, A Full and Exact Description of All the Bones of an Elephant, Which Died Near Dundee, April the 27th, 1706. With Their Several Dimensions. Communicated in a Letter to Dr. Hans Sloane, R.S.Secr. By Mr Patrick Blair, Surgeon, &c (in: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Vol.27, No.326, pp.53-116. 1710; and Vol.27, No.327, pp.117-168. 1710) * The same, published in book form, London (G. Strahan) 1713. * An account of the asbestos, or lapis amiantus, found in the high-lands of Scotland. (in: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Vol.27, No.333, pp.434-436. 1710) * Miscellaneous Observations in the Practice of Physick, Anatomy and Surgery: With New and Curious Remarks in Botany. London (W. Mears) 1718 * An account of the dissection of a child. Communicated in a letter to Dr. Brook Taylor, R.S.Secr. (in: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Vol.30, No.353, pp.631ff. 1719) * A Description of the Organ of Hearing in the Elephant etc (in: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Vol.30, No.358, pp.865-898. 1719) * Botanick Essays: In Two Parts … London (W. & J. Innis) 1720 * Copy of an affidavit made in Scotland, concerning a boy's living a considerable time without food. Communicated by Patrick Blair, M.D. F.R.S (in: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Vol.31, No.364, pp.28-30. 1721) * A discourse concerning a method of discovering the Virtues of Plants by their external structure, By Patrick Blair, M.D. F.R.S (in: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Vol.31, No.364, pp.30-38. 1721) * Observations upon the generation of plants, in a letter to Sir Hans Sloane, etc. By Patrick Blair, M.D. F.R.S (in: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Vol.31, No.369, pp.216-221. 1721) * Pharmaco-Botanologia, an Alphabetical and Classical Dissertation on all the British Indigenous and Garden Plants of the New London Dispensatory. London (G. Strahan) 1723–28

Recognition

''Patrick Blair Place'' within the

Ninewells Hospital Ninewells Hospital is a large teaching hospital, based on the western edge of Dundee, Scotland. It is internationally renowned for introducing laparoscopic surgery to the UK as well as being a leading centre in developing fields such as the manag ...

site in west Dundee is named in his honour

Life

Honours

Publications

Recognition

References

Further reading