Sir Alexander Dick, 3rd Baronet

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". ...

, FSAScot (born Alexander Cunningham; 22 October 1703 – 10 November 1785) was a Scottish landowner and physician who served as 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 ...

from 1756 to 1763.

Life

Dick was born Alexander Cunningham at

Prestonfield House Prestonfield House is a boutique hotel in Prestonfield, Edinburgh, Scotland. Originally built in 1687 by architect Sir William Bruce, it was once considered a wealthy rural estate, however in recent decades, it has come to serve as a hotel. ...

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, 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 around 1,400 pupils drawn from four feeder pr ...

and studied medicine 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

University of Leyden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...

and the

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 ...

. 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

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, Robert Craigie,

Lord Kames Henry Home, Lord Kames (1696–27 December 1782) was a Scottish writer, philosopher and judge who played a major role in Scotland's Agricultural Revolution. A central figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, he was a founding member of the ...

and Lord Drummore and

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

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

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. He was also a fellow of the

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and in 1783 was a founding fellow 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 ...

. 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. He was succeeded by his eldest son William, the 4th Baronet.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dick, Alexander 1703 births 1785 deaths Nobility from Edinburgh 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