Andrew Duncan, The Elder
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Andrew Duncan, the elder (17 October 1744 – 5 July 1828)
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 Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...
FRCPE The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that set the specialty (medicine), specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was establish ...
FSA (Scot) The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usu ...
was a British physician and professor at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
. He was joint founder of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) 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 establis ...
. As first proposer of an asylum in Edinburgh he gives his name to the Andrew Duncan Clinic which forms part of the Edinburgh City Hospital.


Life

Duncan was the second son of Andrew Duncan, merchant and shipmaster, of
Crail Crail (; ) is a former royal burgh, parish and Community council#Scotland, community council area (Royal Burgh of Crail and District) in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The locality has an estimated population of 1,630 (2018). Etymology The ...
, afterwards of St Andrews, his mother being a daughter of Professor William Vilant, and related to the Drummonds of
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. He was born at Pinkerton, near
St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...
,
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, on 17 October 1744, and was educated first by Sandy Don of
Crail Crail (; ) is a former royal burgh, parish and Community council#Scotland, community council area (Royal Burgh of Crail and District) in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The locality has an estimated population of 1,630 (2018). Etymology The ...
, and afterwards by Richard Dick of St Andrews. Duncan proceeded next to
University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...
, where he obtained the M.A. degree in 1762. As a youth he was known as "the smiling boy", and his character for good nature was retained through life. Lord Erskine and his brother Henry Erskine were among his school fellows and fast friends through life. In 1762, he entered the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
as a medical student, being the pupil of
Joseph Black Joseph Black (16 April 1728 – 6 December 1799) was a British physicist and chemist, known for his discoveries of magnesium, latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was Professor of Anatomy and Chemistry at the University of Glasgow ...
,
William Cullen William Cullen (; 15 April 17105 February 1790) was a British physician, chemist and agriculturalist from Hamilton, Scotland, who also served as a professor at the Edinburgh Medical School. Cullen was a central figure in the Scottish Enli ...
, John Gregory, John Hope, and
Alexander Monro secundus Alexander Monro of Craiglockhart and Cockburn (22 May 1733 – 2 October 1817) was a Scottish anatomist, physician and medical educator. He is typically known as to distinguish him as the second of three generations of physicians of the sa ...
. Duncan was president of the
Royal Medical Society The Royal Medical Society (RMS) is a society run by students at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, Scotland. It claims to be the oldest medical society in the United Kingdom although this claim is also made by the earlier London-based ...
in 1764, and five times afterwards. His attachment to the society continued through life: he was its treasurer for many years; and in 1786 he was awarded a gold medal for his services. On the completion of his course of studies in 1768, he traveled to
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
as surgeon of the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
's ship ''Asia''. Refusing an offer of five hundred guineas to undertake a second voyage, Duncan graduated M.D. at St Andrews in October 1769, and in May 1770 became a licentiate 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 set the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by royal charter i ...
. In the same year he was an unsuccessful candidate for the professorship of medicine at the University of St Andrews. He was elected to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
in 1774. During the absence of Dr. Drummond, professor-elect of medicine at Edinburgh, Duncan was appointed to lecture in 1774–6. When Drummond failed to return, James Gregory was elected professor, and Duncan started an extra-academical course, as well as a public dispensary (the first free hospital in Scotland), which afterwards became the
Royal Public Dispensary The Public Dispensary of Edinburgh was the first free-of-charge hospital in Scotland. History Edinburgh has a history of providing free medical care to the poor. In first meeting of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, in 1681, the F ...
, incorporated by
royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
in 1818. In 1773 he lived on Bristo Street in the south of Edinburgh. In 1773, he commenced the publication of ''Medical and Philosophical Commentaries'', a quarterly journal of medicine, at first issued in the name of "a society in Edinburgh", Duncan being named as secretary. It was the first medical review journal published regularly in Great Britain. The seventh volume was entitled ''Medical Commentaries for the year 1780, collected and published by Andrew Duncan'', and reached a third edition. The series extended ultimately to twenty volumes, the last issue being in 1795, after which the publication was entitled ''Annals of Medicine'', of which eight volumes were issued. In 1804 it was discontinued in favour of the ''Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal'', edited by his son. In 1773, Duncan founded the
Aesculapian Club The Aesculapian Club of Edinburgh is one of the oldest medical dining clubs in the world. It was founded in April 1773 by Dr. Andrew Duncan. Membership of the club is limited to 11 Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and ...
and served as Honorary Secretary until 1827. This Club, which still meets today, was aimed at stimulating intellectual discussion and convivial relations between Fellows 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 set the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by royal charter i ...
and Fellows of the
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...
. In 1782, Duncan founded the
Harveian Society of Edinburgh The Harveian Society of Edinburgh was founded in April 1782 by Andrew Duncan (physician, born 1744), Andrew Duncan. The Society holds an annual Festival in honour of the life and works of William Harvey, the physician who first correctly des ...
, which also still meets today and - like other Harveian societies - celebrates the work of physician and anatomist
William Harvey William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions to anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, pulmonary and systemic circulation ...
, especially concerning the
circulation of the blood In vertebrates, the circulatory system is a organ system, system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the body. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of ...
. Duncan was the inaugural President of the society and served as one of its Secretaries for 46 years from 1782-1828. In 1776 Duncan founded Edinburgh's first Public Dispensary at West Richmond Street. Later called the Royal Dispensary it stood until at least 1900. Duncan's portrait by
Sir Henry Raeburn Sir Henry Raeburn (; 4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland. Biography Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a for ...
hung in the building's entrance hall. Duncan's extra-academical lectures were continued with considerable success till 1790, when he became the 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 set the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by royal charter i ...
. On William Cullen's resignation in that year he was succeeded in the professorship of medicine by James Gregory, and Duncan followed the latter in the chair of the theory or institutes of medicine (physiology). In 1792, he proposed the erection of a public
lunatic asylum The lunatic asylum, insane asylum or mental asylum was an institution where people with mental illness were confined. It was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. Modern psychiatric hospitals evolved from and eventually replace ...
in Edinburgh, having first conceived the idea after hearing of the miserable death of
Robert Fergusson Robert Fergusson (5 September 1750 – 17 October 1774) was a Scottish poet. After formal education at the University of St Andrews, Fergusson led a Bohemianism, bohemian life in Edinburgh, the city of his birth, then at the height of intel ...
in 1774 in the common
workhouse In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as Scottish poorhouse, poorh ...
. It was not until many difficulties had been surmounted that the project was at last accomplished, and a royal charter was granted in 1807 under which a lunatic asylum was built in Morningside. Inspired by a miscarriage of justice, he also delivered the first lectures on
forensic medicine Forensic medicine is a broad term used to describe a group of medical specialties which deal with the examination and diagnosis of individuals who have been injured by or who have died because of external or unnatural causes such as poisoning, assa ...
in
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, and campaigned to establish a chair of
medical jurisprudence Medical jurisprudence or legal medicine is the branch of science and medicine involving the study and application of scientific and medical knowledge to legal problems, such as inquests, and in the field of law. As modern medicine is a legal ...
at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
. The chair was eventually filled by his son,
Andrew Duncan, the younger Andrew Duncan, the younger (10 August 1773 – 13 May 1832) was a British physician and professor at the University of Edinburgh. Life Duncan was the son of Elizabeth Knox and Andrew Duncan, the elder, born at Adam Square in Edinburgh on 10 ...
, who followed him into the profession. In 1808, the freedom of Edinburgh was conferred upon Duncan for his services in the foundation of the dispensary and the asylum. In 1809, he founded the Caledonian Horticultural Society, which became of great scientific and practical value. In his later years, Duncan was actively occupied in promoting the establishment of a public experimental garden, the scheme for which was actively progressing at his death. In 1819, his son became joint professor with him, and in 1821, Dr. W. P. Alison succeeded to that post, but Duncan continued to do much of the duty to the last. In 1821, on the death of James Gregory, Duncan became first
Physician to the King Physician to the King (or Queen, as appropriate) is a title (as postnominals, KHP, QHP) held by physicians of the Medical Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Part of the Royal Household, the Medical Household includes physicians, ...
in Scotland, having held the same office to the
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for more than thirty years. In 1821, Duncan was elected president of the Edinburgh Medico-Chirurgical Society at its foundation. In 1824, he was again elected 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 set the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by royal charter i ...
. Although in his later years, he failed to keep up with the progress of physiology, his zeal was unabated. He used to say that the business of no institution should be hindered by his absence, whether it was forwarded by his presence or not. For more than half a century he walked to the top of
Arthur's Seat Arthur's Seat (, ) is an ancient extinct volcano that is the main peak of the group of hills in Edinburgh, Scotland, which form most of Holyrood Park, described by Robert Louis Stevenson as "a hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtue of its bol ...
on May-day morning, accomplishing this for the last time on 1 May 1827. He died at his home, Adam Square in Edinburgh on 5 July 1828, at age 84. He bequeathed to the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh seventy volumes of manuscript notes from the lectures of the founders of the Edinburgh School of Medicine, and a hundred volumes of practical observations on medicine in his own handwriting. A portrait of him by
Henry Raeburn Sir Henry Raeburn (; 4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland. Biography Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a f ...
is in the Edinburgh Royal Dispensary, as well as a bust; a full-length portrait was painted in 1825 for the
Royal Medical Society The Royal Medical Society (RMS) is a society run by students at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, Scotland. It claims to be the oldest medical society in the United Kingdom although this claim is also made by the earlier London-based ...
by
John Watson Gordon Sir John Watson Gordon (1788 – 1 June 1864) was a Scottish Portrait painting, portrait painter and president of the Royal Scottish Academy. Life and work Gordon was born in 1788, in Edinburgh, the eldest son of Captain Watson, R.A., a cadet ...
.


Works

Duncan's larger works, besides those already mentioned, are: #'Elements of Therapeutics,’ 1770, second edition 1773. #'Medical Cases,’ 1778, third edition 1784; translated into Latin, Leyden, 1785; translated into French, Paris, 1797. #An edition of Hoffmann's 'Practice of Medicine,’ 2 vols. 1783. #'The New Dispensatory,’ editions of 1786, 1789, 1791. #'Observations on the Distinguishing Symptoms of three different Species of
Pulmonary consumption Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
,’ 1813, second edition 1816. #'The Edinburgh new Dispensatory : containing 1. The Elements of pharmaceutical Chemistry; 2. The Materia medica; or the natural, pharmaceutical and medical History, of the Substances employed in Medicine; 3. The pharmaceutical Preparations and Compositions; including Translations of the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia published in 1817, of the Dublin Pharmacopoeia in 1807, and of the London Pharmacopoeia in 1815'. Bell & Bradfute, Edinburgh 9th Edition 181
Digital edition
by the
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In connection with the
Harveian Society of Edinburgh The Harveian Society of Edinburgh was founded in April 1782 by Andrew Duncan (physician, born 1744), Andrew Duncan. The Society holds an annual Festival in honour of the life and works of William Harvey, the physician who first correctly des ...
, Duncan published an oration in praise of Harvey, 1778; and memoirs of
Alexander Monro (primus) Alexander Monro (19 September 169710 July 1767) was a Scottish surgeon and anatomist. His father, the surgeon John Monro (surgeon), John Monro, had been a prime mover in the foundation of the Edinburgh Medical School and had arranged Alexande ...
, 1780; John Parsens, 1786; John Hope, 1789;
Alexander Monro (secundus) Alexander Monro of Craiglockhart and Cockburn (22 May 1733 – 2 October 1817) was a Scottish anatomist, physician and medical educator. He is typically known as to distinguish him as the second of Alexander Monro (disambiguation), three gen ...
, 1818;
Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English Natural history, naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the European and American voyages of scientific exploration, 1766 natural-history ...
, 1821; and
Henry Raeburn Sir Henry Raeburn (; 4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland. Biography Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a f ...
, 1824. Duncan published his ''Opinion'', 1808, and a ''Letter to Dr. James Gregory'', 1811, on the subject of Gregory's many controversies. Some of his poetry is included in ''Carminum Rariorum Macaronicorum Delectus'' (Esculapian Society), 1801, second edition enlarged; and ''Miscellaneous Poems, extracted from the Records of the Circulation Club, Edinburgh'', 1818. He also selected and published ''Monumental Inscriptions selected from Burial Grounds at Edinburgh'', 1815.


Family

In February 1771, he married Elizabeth Knox, who bore him twelve children. His eldest son,
Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...
, also became a professor at Edinburgh. His third son, Alexander Duncan (1780–1859), became a general in the army and distinguished himself in India.


Freemasonry

Duncan was a Scottish Freemason. He was initiated in Lodge Canongate Kilwinning, No.2, on 27 December 1774. The Lodge records state that he was the 'founder of the Edinburgh dispensary.'


Grave

He is buried together with many of his family in a mausoleum in Buccleuch Churchyard. As a favour, one of his prodigy students is buried in the tomb, having died during his studies: Charles Darwin (1758–1778) by blood the uncle of his namesake
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
the naturalist, but dying before his birth.


Legacy

The Andrew Duncan Clinic at the
Royal Edinburgh Hospital The Royal Edinburgh Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Morningside Place, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Lothian. History The "foundational myth" has it that the hospital was founded by Dr Andrew Duncan, following the death of ...
, opened in 1965, is named after him. A bust of Duncan by
Lawrence Macdonald Lawrence Macdonald sometimes Laurence Macdonald (15 February 1799 – 4 March 1878) was a Scottish sculptor. Life Macdonald was born on 15 February 1799 at Findo Gask in Perthshire, Scotland to Margaret Morison, a nurse, and Alexander Macdo ...
is held at 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 set the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by royal charter i ...
.


Notes


References

* * * Attribution *; Endnotes: **Autobiographical Fragment in ''Miscellaneous Poems'', by A. D., 1818 **Huie's Harveian Oration for 1829 **Chambers's Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen, editor Thomson **Cockburn's Memorials, page 284 **Grant's Story of Edinburgh University ii. 406–7 **Fragment of Life of the Scriba Prætorius in Misc. Poems of Circulation Club above mentioned. {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Andrew 1744 births 1828 deaths Medical doctors from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of St Andrews Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Edinburgh Scottish Freemasons 18th-century Scottish publishers (people) Scottish medical writers Scottish philanthropists Scottish activists British forensic pathologists Scottish journalists 18th-century Scottish medical doctors 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Founder fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Members of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh Mental health professionals Scottish antiquarians People from St Andrews Scottish surgeons Scottish horticulturists Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Presidents of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh History of mental health in the United Kingdom Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Members of the American Philosophical Society Office bearers of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh Members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh