Dr Richard Turner MD

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 ...

OBE (1856 - April 1940) was a Scottish physician, archaeologist and geologist.

Life

He was born in

Ratho Ratho ( gd, Ràthach) is a village in the Rural West Edinburgh area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Its population at the 2011 census was 1,634 based on the 2010 definition of the locality. It was formerly in the old county of Midlothian. Ratho Statio ...

, west of

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 1856, the son of John Turner, a farmer. He studied medicine 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 ...

graduating with an MB ChB in 1880. He practiced as a general practitioner in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. In the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served the military hospitals in the York area. He received a military OBE in 1919. He was President of the Yorkshire branch of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...

. He retired to Peebles in 1921 and began to indulge his geological interests. He contributed many samples to the

Royal Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opened in ...

and reorganised and catalogued the entire geological collection. He undertook archaeological excavations at Romanno and

Dunsyre Dunsyre ( gd, Dùn Saghair) is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is from Carnwath. Dunsyre is associated with an ancient barony and parish church. The name of Dunsyre is of Celtic origin and is supposed to signify the "Hill of the S ...

in 1928. He was made a

Burgess __NOTOC__ Burgess may refer to: People and fictional characters * Burgess (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Burgess (given name), a list of people Places * Burgess, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Burgess, Missouri, U ...

of Peebles in 1923. 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 ...

in 1924. His proposers were John Horne, David Balsillie, Sir John Smith Flett and

Thomas James Jehu Thomas John Jehu (19 February 1871 – 18 July 1943) was a British physician and geologist. The Jehu-Campbell Fossil Collection at the University of Edinburgh was donated by Jehu in combination with Robert Campbell and is now the main component ...

. He died in

on 9 April 1940.

References

1856 births 1940 deaths People from Midlothian Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century Scottish medical doctors 20th-century Scottish medical doctors Scottish geologists Scottish archaeologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh {{UK-geologist-stub