Alexander Wood (14 June 1725 – 12 May 1807) was a Scottish surgeon, who was active in the convivial clubs which flourished in Enlightenment Edinburgh and was the founder of two of these. Owing to his lean, lanky physique he was better known to his contemporaries and to posterity as "Lang Sandy" Wood. His treatment of and friendship with the poet

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

contributed to the local celebrity status which he attained.

Early life and education

Wood was born at

Restalrig Restalrig ( ) is a small residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland (historically, an estate and independent parish). It is located east of the city centre, west of Craigentinny and to the east of Lochend, Edinburgh, Lochend, both of which it ...

on 14 June 1725, the son of Thomas Wood (1702–1798), a farmer, and his wife Janet Lamb. He 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 ...

and after graduating took up practice in

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of . History The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...

Medical practice

He became a Freeman of the Incorporation of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1756, and was appointed to the staff of the new

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) was established in 1729, and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on, the Empire."In Com ...

. Elected Deacon (President) of the Incorporation of Surgeons in 1762, he held office for two years. He was in surgical practice with the surgeons John Rattray (1707–1771) and Charles Congleton. Two of his pupils held him in high regard; surgeon John Bell (1763–1820) dedicated his book ''Anatomy of the Human Body'' to Wood to him and Sir Alexander Morison (1779–1866), the pioneer of psychiatric medicine, composed a poem in his honour. As far as is known, he made no known contributions to the advancement of surgical knowledge.

Personal and social life

Wood married Veronica Chalmers and one of their sons, Sir Alexander Wood, married the eldest daughter of William Forbes of Pitsligo, and later became Chief Secretary for the government of Malta. His brother Thomas Wood (1747–1821) and son George Wood were also Edinburgh surgeons. George's son was

Alexander Wood, Lord Wood The Hon Alexander Wood of Woodcote, Lord Wood FRSE (12 November 1788 – 18 July 1864) was a 19th-century Scottish lawyer who became a Senator of the College of Justice. Life He was born on Blair Street, off the Royal Mile, Edinburgh on 12 ...

. His grand-nephew Dr Alexander Wood (1817–1884) introduced hypodermic medication into medical practice. Wood became a well known and popular figure in Edinburgh with a reputation for a warm and generous nature. He was a member of many dining clubs and convivial societies which characterised the

Scottish Enlightenment The Scottish Enlightenment (, ) was the period in 18th- and early-19th-century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By the eighteenth century, Scotland had a network of parish schools in the Sco ...

in Edinburgh. In 1773 he was elected a member of the newly-formed

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 ...

. On 12 April 1782 Wood was one of the founding members of 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 ...

and served as President in 1783 and 1803. He was known for his personal idiosyncrasies and was often accompanied around Edinburgh by two pets, a tame sheep and a raven which perched on his shoulder. He was said to be the first person in Edinburgh to own and use an umbrella which he did from 1780. In June 1792 he infamously narrowly escaped death during the Dundas Riots when he was mistaken for the Lord Provost, Sir James Stirling, and threatened with being thrown off North Bridge.

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

included a couplet about him in the 5th canto of his poem ''

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage ''Childe Harold's Pilgrimage: A Romaunt'' is a long narrative poem in four parts written by Lord Byron. The poem was published between 1812 and 1818. Dedicated to " Ianthe", it describes the travels and reflections of a young man disillusioned ...

'' in which he describes contemporary Edinburgh and some of its characters. It was published in

Blackwood's Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by publisher William Blackwood and originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine'', but quickly relaunched as ''Blackwood's Edinb ...

in May 1818: "Oh! for an hour of him who knew no feud, The octogenarian chief, the kind old Sandy Wood!"

Friendship with Robert Burns

After he treated a leg injury sustained by the poet

on his visit to Edinburgh in 1787, Burns's close friend

Agnes Maclehose Agnes Maclehose (26 April 1758 – 23 October 1841Scotland's People, Death record of Agnes Craig or McIhose (OPR Deaths 685/03 0340 0368 CANONGATE)), or Agnes Craig, known to her friends as Nancy

(Clarinda), herself a surgeon's daughter, wrote to Burns, "I am glad to hear Mr Wood attends you. He is a good soul and a safe surgeon. Do as he bids and I trust your leg will soon be quite well". Wood and Burns became friends with Burns referring to "My very worthy respected friend, Mr Alexander Wood" and to "one of the noblest men in God’s world - Alexander Wood, Surgeon". Wood died on 12 May 1807, in Edinburgh. He was 82 years old. He is buried at

churchyard.Grant's Old and New Edinburgh vol.5 p.131

References

External links