David Milne-Home of Milne Graden

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 ...

FGS PGSE LLD (1805–1890) was a Scottish

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However ...

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

and

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

. He was the founder of the Scottish Meteorological Society in 1855, and served as its chairman. From 1874 to 1889 he served as president of the Edinburgh Geological Society

Life

He was born David Milne in Inveresk east 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 ...

on 22 January 1805 the son of Grace (née Purves) and Admiral Sir David Milne of Milne-Graden

. His younger brother became Admiral of the Fleet Sir Alexander Milne, 1st Baronet. David was educated at

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; sco, Musselburrae; gd, Baile nam Feusgan) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of . History The name Musselburgh is Ol ...

Grammar School then the High School in Edinburgh. He studied law 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 1 ...

and became an advocate in 1826. In 1828 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 ...

his proposer was

Norwich Duff Admiral Norwich Duff FRSE (15 August 1792 – 21 April 1862) was a Royal Navy officer. Life The son of Captain George Duff RN, and Sophia Dirom, he was born at 9 South Castle Street, Edinburgh. He entered the Royal Navy in July 1805, just befor ...

. At age 23 this made him one of its youngest members. He served as secretary to the society 1840 to 1848 and as vice president for most of the period 1865 to 1888, serving more years in this role than any other person. Milne was the junior defence counsel for the notorious grave-robber William Burke, and later served as

Advocate-Depute The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is the independent public prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by His Majesty's Lord Advocate, who under the S ...

for the Crown Office. In 1840 he was living at 10

York Place, Edinburgh York Place is a street in central Edinburgh of almost exclusively 18th century buildings, linking Queen Street, Edinburgh, Queen Street to Broughton, Edinburgh, Broughton Street and Leith Walk. The street's architecture remains almost completely ...

, a huge Georgian townhouse. In 1845 he inherited Milne-Graden House, and

Paxton House Paxton House may refer to: ;in Scotland *Paxton House, Berwickshire Paxton House is a historic house at Paxton, Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders, a few miles south-west of Berwick-upon-Tweed, overlooking the River Tweed. It is a country ...

in 1852. As a deeply religious man, he viewed glacial deposits as evidence of the biblical flood. He is remembered today chiefly for his work on earthquakes. As Secretary of the British Association of the Advancement of Science Earthquakes Committee from 1840 to around 1845, he published extensive reports into the earthquake swarm at Comrie, Perthshire, a catalogue of earthquakes in Britain culled from historical sources, and theoretical observations on earthquake phenomena that were advanced for their time. It was Milne who coined the word "

seismometer A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground noises and shaking such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The outpu ...

" in 1841, to describe an instrument designed by

James David Forbes James David Forbes (1809–1868) was a Scottish physicist and glaciologist who worked extensively on the conduction of heat and seismology. Forbes was a resident of Edinburgh for most of his life, educated at its University and a professor ...

. From 1876 until 1889 he led

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of th ...

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

during which period (in 1881) he organised for the relief of the families of the numerous fishermen lost in the

Eyemouth Disaster The Eyemouth disaster was a severe European windstorm that struck the south-eastern coast of Scotland on 14 October 1881. One hundred and eighty-nine fishermen, most of whom were from Eyemouth, were drowned. Many citizens of Eyemouth call the ...

. He died at Milne-Graden House on 19 September 1890. He is buried in Hutton churchyard.

Family

Milne married Jean Margaret Home in 1832. On the death of her father in 1852 they adopted the famous name Home, thereafter being Milne-Home. At this point they inherited the Wedderburn, Billie and Paxton estates in 1852.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milne-Home, David 1805 births People from East Lothian Members of the Faculty of Advocates Scottish geologists Scottish meteorologists 1890 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Councillors in Scotland Politics of the Scottish Borders People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Elders of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish businesspeople