Alexander Christison

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 so ...

(1751–1820) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

educator and mathematician during the

Scottish Enlightenment The Scottish Enlightenment ( sco, Scots Enlichtenment, gd, Soillseachadh na h-Alba) was the period in 18th- and early-19th-century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By the eighteenth century ...

Life

He was born in 1753, at Redpath House,

Longformacus Longformacus ( gd, Longphort Mhacais) is a small village in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is around north-west of Duns, in the Lammermuir Hills. The Dye Water runs through the village, flowing east towards its conflu ...

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 ...

. He was the eldest of seven children to a tenant sheep-farmer in the

Lammermuir Hills The Lammermuirs are a range of hills in southern Scotland, forming a natural boundary between East Lothian and the Borders. The name "Lammermuir" comes from the Old English ''lambra mōr'', meaning "moorland of the lambs". Geology The Lamme ...

. After a local education he began employment as the local schoolteacher for the parish of

Edrom Edrom is a parish and small village in the pre-1975 ancient county of Berwickshire, now an administrative area of the Scottish Borders region of Scotland. The rural parish of Edrom is in east central Berwickshire being bounded on the north by ...

before attending 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 15 ...

to study Classics, graduating in 1775. This background gave him access to teach at a higher calibre of school and he taught both at George Watson’s College,

Dalkeith Grammar School Dalkeith High School is a secondary state school located in Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland. History Dalkeith High School was previously the historic Dalkeith Grammar School. A list of masters of the Grammar School at Dalkeith (located on the Hi ...

and the

High School in Edinburgh 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 1,200 pupils drawn from four feeder primar ...

. In the 1780s he lived at Alexander's Land in the Bristo area. 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 1800 his main proposer being the physician, James Gregory. He trained under John Hill at the

and graduated MA in 1806, and from that date he served as Professor of Humanity at the University. He died in Edinburgh on 25 June 1820 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 nu ...

in the city centre. He is buried in the plot of Professor George Dunbar at the north-west section of the western extension. He is also memorialised on Robert Christison's grave at New Calton.

Family

Christison's son was Scottish toxicologist

Robert Christison Sir Robert Christison, 1st Baronet, (18 July 1797 – 27 January 1882) was a Scottish toxicologist and physician who served as president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (1838–40 and 1846-8) and as president of the British M ...

and Scottish minister (another) Alexander Chistison. His grandchildren included Sir Alexander Christison. and the Australian explorer and pastoralist

Publications

*''On the General Diffusion of Knowledge'' (1802) in which he said "genius is no respecter of ranks"

References

1753 births 1820 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard Alumni of the University of Edinburgh {{mathematician-stub