Patrick Murdoch (died 1774) was an author, publisher and mathematician, who published a biography of poet James Thomson, and also ''An account of Sir Isaac Newton's philosophical discoveries'' by

Colin MacLaurin Colin Maclaurin (; gd, Cailean MacLabhruinn; February 1698 – 14 June 1746) was a Scottish mathematician who made important contributions to geometry and algebra. He is also known for being a child prodigy and holding the record for bei ...

Life

He was a native of Dumfries, and was educated at 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 ...

, where he distinguished himself in mathematics, and was the pupil and friend of

Colin Maclaurin Colin Maclaurin (; gd, Cailean MacLabhruinn; February 1698 – 14 June 1746) was a Scottish mathematician who made important contributions to geometry and algebra. He is also known for being a child prodigy and holding the record for bei ...

. In 1729, he was appointed tutor to John Forbes, only son of Lord-president Duncan Forbes of Culloden, and visited with him Orleans, Montauban, Rome, and other continental cities. Forbes subsequently paid Murdoch long and frequent visits at Stradishall rectory, Suffolk, and placed his eldest son, Duncan, under his tuition. Murdoch was likewise travelling tutor to the younger sons of

James Vernon James Vernon (1646–1727) was an English administrator and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1679 and 1710. He was Secretary of State for both the Northern and the Southern Departments during the rei ...

, ambassador to the court of Denmark. He was presented by James Vernon to the rectory of Stradishall in 1738, when his friend, James Thomson, addressed to him some pleasing lines. On 20 March 1745, he was elected F.R.S., and in 1748 was admitted M.A. at Cambridge per literas reyias. William Leman gave him the rectory of Kettlebaston, Suffolk, in 1749, which he resigned in 1760 on being presented by Edward Vernon to the vicarage of Great Thurlow ; but he still continued to reside at Stradishall. In 1756, he accompanied his friend

Andrew Mitchell Andrew John Bower Mitchell (born 23 March 1956) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sutton Coldfield since 2001. A member of the Conservative Party, Mitchell was previously the MP for Gedling from 1987 to 1 ...

(1695?–1771), to Berlin, where he remained until 1757, conducting part of the correspondence, while Mitchell and his secretary, Burnet, were with the army. Shortly after his return home he received the degree of D.D., presumably from the university of Edinburgh. Murdoch died in October 1774 in

St. Clement Danes St Clement Danes is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. Although the first church on the site was reputedly founded in the 9th century by the Danes, the current ...

, London. He appears to have been amiable and simple-hearted, and a good scholar. Though he speaks of his engagement to a lady whom he met in Paris in 1742, he died a bachelor. His library was sold in 1776.

Works

Murdoch, having written the 68th stanza in canto i. of Thomson's ''Castle of Indolence,'' in which he portrayed the poet, Thomson gave the next stanza as descriptive of Murdoch, referring to him as 'a little, round, fat, oily man of God.' Murdoch also wrote a short but clear and lively memoir of Thomson prefixed to the memorial edition of the poet's '' Works,'' 2 vols. 4to, 1762, and to nearly all the later editions of ''The Seasons.'' To

's ''Account of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophical Discoveries,'' 4to, London, 1748, which he saw through the press for the benefit of the author's children, he prefixed an account of his life. Another edition was issued in 1750, 8vo. He also edited the illustrations of perspective from conic sections, entitled ''Neutoni Genesis Curvarum per Umbras,'' &c., 8vo, London, 1746. He contemplated a complete edition of Newton's works, and by 1766 had found a publisher in

Andrew Millar Andrew Millar (17058 June 1768) was a British publisher in the eighteenth century. Biography In 1725, as a twenty-year-old bookseller apprentice, he evaded Edinburgh city printing restrictions by going to Leith to print, which was considered be ...

, but increasing infirmities obliged him to abandon the undertaking. Murdoch was a longtime friend to both Millar and Andrew Mitchell. Murdoch was author of ''Mercator's Sailing, applied to the true Figure of the Earth ; with an Introduction,'' &c., 4to, London, 1741. To the ''Philosophical Transactions'' he communicated eight papers, two of which ''Trigonometry abridged,'' 1758, and ''On Geographical Maps,'' 1758, exist in the original manuscript among the

Additional manuscripts The Additional manuscripts are a collection of manuscripts stored at the British Library. The collection was started at the British Museum in 1756, and passed to the British Library on its establishment in 1973. They form by far the largest collecti ...

in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

(Add MS 4440, arts. 564 and 565). He translated from the German the portion of Anton Friedrich Buesching's ''New System of Geography,'' which relates to the European states, 6 vols. 4to, London, 1762, and prefixed three explanatory essays. Murdoch's letters to Dr. Thomas Birch, 1756-9, are in British Library Add MS 4315 ; those to Sir Andrew Mitchell, 1756–70, are contained in Add MS 6840 ; while twelve letters by him are printed in the ' Culloden Papers,' 4to, 1815. His letterbook, when acting for Mitchell at Berlin, 1756-7, is Add MS 6841 (cf. Add MSS 6805, fol. 48 and 6839, fol. 105).

References

;Attribution

Sources

External links

Biography at jamesboswell.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murdoch, Patrick 1774 deaths 18th-century British mathematicians British writers Fellows of the Royal Society Year of birth unknown