Sir Alexander Dick, 3rd Baronet of Prestonfield PRCPE

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 ...

FSA (22 October 1703 – 10 November 1785) was a Scottish landowner and physician, who rose to be 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 ...

Life

Dick was born Alexander Cunningham at

Prestonfield House Prestonfield House is a boutique hotel in Prestonfield, Edinburgh, Scotland. Prestonfield House was originally built in 1687 by architect Sir William Bruce, and was once considered a wealthy rural estate, but in recent decades has come to ...

, Edinburgh, the 3rd son of Sir William Cunningham, 2nd Baronet of Lambrughton and Caprington, Ayrshire and his wife Janet Dick, the only daughter and heiress of Sir James Dick, 1st Baronet of Prestonfield, Edinburgh. He changed his surname to Dick on the death in 1746 of his elder brother William, when he inherited the baronetcy and Prestonfield. He was educated at the

Edinburgh High School The Royal High School (RHS) of Edinburgh is a co-educational school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland. It serves 1,200 pupils drawn from four feeder primar ...

and 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 ...

, the

University of Leyden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

and the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. After qualifying as a physician he set up in practice in Pembrokeshire prior to his inheritance. He was made a Fellow of the

in 1727 and elected President of the Society from 1756 to 1763. In 1753, with the Lord Provost,

Robert Craigie The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

Lord Kames Henry Home, Lord Kames (169627 December 1782) was a Scottish writer, philosopher, advocate, judge, and agricultural improver. A central figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, a founding member of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, and act ...

and Lord Drummore and

Alexander Boswell, Lord Auchinleck Alexander Boswell, Lord Auchinleck, 8th Laird of Auchinleck (1706–1782) was a judge of the supreme courts of Scotland. He was the father of the author and biographer James Boswell, and grandfather of songwriter Alexander Boswell (songwriter), ...

he organised the site to create the Edinburgh Royal Exchange (which later became

Edinburgh City Chambers Edinburgh City Chambers in Edinburgh, Scotland, is the meeting place of the City of Edinburgh Council and its predecessors, Edinburgh Corporation and Edinburgh District Council. It is a Category A listed building. History The current building ...

. He was also a fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and in 1783 was a founding 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 ...

. He is mentioned in James Boswell's ''The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson'' (1785).

Family

He married twice, firstly in 1736 to Janet Dick, and secondly in 1762 to Mary Butler. He left 3 sons and 5 daughters, out of 12 total children.''The Scots Magazine''
/ref> He was succeeded by his eldest son William, the 4th Baronet.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dick, Alexander 1703 births 1785 deaths 18th-century Scottish people Medical doctors from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of St Andrews 18th-century Scottish medical doctors Presidents of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia