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Dr Robert Kerr
Dr Robert Kerr 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 ...
FAS FRCSE (20 October 1757 – 11 October 1813) was a Scottish surgeon, writer on scientific and other subjects, and translator.
Life
Kerr was born in 1757 in Bughtridge,Roxburghshire
Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Be ...
, the son of James Kerr, a jeweller, who served as MP for Edinburgh 1747–1754, and his wife Elizabeth. He was sent to the High School in 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 ...
.
He 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 1 ...
and practised at the Edinburgh Foundling Hospital as a surgeon
In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...
. 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 ...
in 1788. His proposers were Alexander Fraser Tytler
Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee FRSE (15 October 17475 January 1813) was a Scottish advocate, judge, writer and historian who was a Professor of Universal History, and Greek and Roman Antiquities at the University of Edinburgh.
Life ...
, James Russell and Andrew Dalzell
Andrew Dalzell (sometimes shown as Andrew Dalzel or Andrew Dalziel) FRSE (1742–1806) was a Scottish scholar and prominent figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. In 1783 he was a co-founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Life
He was b ...
. At this time he lived at Foresters Wynd off the Royal Mile
The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), de ...
in Edinburgh.
He translated several scientific works into English, such as Antoine Lavoisier
Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( , ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794),
CNRS (
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Volume 09
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Volume 10
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Volume 11
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Volume 12
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Volume 13
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Volume 14
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Volume 15
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Volume 16
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Volume 17
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Volume 18
Contemporary review
of the "Essays on the Theory of the Earth"
from ElectricScotland.com. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Robert 1757 births 1813 deaths Scottish science writers Scottish zoologists Scottish agronomists 19th-century Scottish historians Scottish surgeons Scottish translators Scottish travel writers Scottish male writers British mammalogists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Translators from French People from the Scottish Borders Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard 18th-century Scottish scientists 18th-century British zoologists 19th-century British zoologists 18th-century British non-fiction writers 19th-century British non-fiction writers 18th-century Scottish writers 19th-century Scottish writers 19th-century Scottish scientists 18th-century British male writers 19th-century British translators 18th-century British translators
CNRS (
Traité Élémentaire de Chimie
''Traité élémentaire de chimie'' (''Elementary Treatise on Chemistry'') is a textbook written by Antoine Lavoisier published in 1789 and translated into English by Robert Kerr in 1790 under the title ''Elements of Chemistry in a New Systemati ...
'', published under the title ''Elements of Chemistry in a New Systematic Order containing All the Modern Discoveries'', in 1790. In 1792, he published ''The Animal Kingdom'', the first two volumes of a four-tome translation of Linnaeus' ''Systema Naturae
' (originally in Latin written ' with the ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the system, now known as binomial ...
'', which is often cited as the taxonomic authority for a great many species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...
. (He never translated the remaining two volumes.)
In 1794 he left his post as a surgeon to manage a paper mill at Ayton in 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 ...
which he had purchased. He lost much of his fortune with this enterprise. Out of economical necessity he began writing again in 1809, publishing a variety of minor works, for instance a ''General View of the Agriculture of Berwickshire''. His last work was a translation of Cuvier's ''Recherches sur les ossements fossiles de quadrupedes'', which was published after Kerr's death under the title "Essays on the Theory of the Earth".
His other works included a massive historical study entitled ''A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels'' in eighteen volumes. Kerr began the series in 1811, dedicating it to Sir Alexander Cochrane
Admiral of the Blue Sir Alexander Inglis Cochrane (born Alexander Forrester Cochrane; 23 April 1758 – 26 January 1832) was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars and achieved the rank of admiral.
He had previously captain ...
, K.B., Vice-Admiral of the White. Publication did not cease following Kerr's death in 1813; the latter volumes were published into the 1820s.
He died at home, Hope Park House,Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1813 east of the Meadows in Edinburgh, where he had lived since 1810, and is buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard
Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a num ...
in central 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 ...
against the eastern wall. His stone is added to a much earlier (1610) ornate stone monument. His son, David Wardrobe Kerr (1796–1815) lies with him.
Selected writings
* *Volume 01
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Volume 02
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Volume 03
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Volume 04
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Volume 05
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Volume 06
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Volume 07
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Volume 08
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Volume 09
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Volume 10
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Volume 11
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Volume 12
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Volume 13
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Volume 14
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Volume 15
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Volume 16
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Volume 17
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Volume 18
See also
* :Taxa named by Robert Kerr (writer)Notes
References
*Further reading
* - The introduction by Douglas McKie has information on Robert Kerr, the book's translator.External links
* *Contemporary review
of the "Essays on the Theory of the Earth"
from ElectricScotland.com. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Robert 1757 births 1813 deaths Scottish science writers Scottish zoologists Scottish agronomists 19th-century Scottish historians Scottish surgeons Scottish translators Scottish travel writers Scottish male writers British mammalogists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Translators from French People from the Scottish Borders Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard 18th-century Scottish scientists 18th-century British zoologists 19th-century British zoologists 18th-century British non-fiction writers 19th-century British non-fiction writers 18th-century Scottish writers 19th-century Scottish writers 19th-century Scottish scientists 18th-century British male writers 19th-century British translators 18th-century British translators