Maclagan grave, Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh

Sir Andrew Douglas Maclagan PRSE FRCPE FRCSE FCS FRSSA (17 April 1812, in Ayr – 5 April 1900, in Edinburgh) 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 ...

surgeon, toxicologist and scholar of medical jurisprudence. He served as president of 5 learned societies: the Royal Medical Society (1832), the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (1859–61), the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (1884–87), 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 ...

(1890–5), and the Royal Scottish Society of Arts (1900).

Life

He was born on 17 April 1812 in Ayr to the Scottish physician David Maclagan

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 ...

(1785–1865), and Jane Whiteside. He was the elder brother of

William Dalrymple Maclagan William Dalrymple Maclagan (18 June 1826 – 19 September 1910) was Archbishop of York from 1891 to 1908, when he resigned his office, and was succeeded in 1909 by Cosmo Gordon Lang, later Archbishop of Canterbury. As Archbishop of York, Maclaga ...

, who would become Archbishop of York; and of the engineer and soldier Gen Sir

Robert Maclagan General Sir Robert Maclagan (14 December 1820 – 1894) was a British Army officer and military engineer. He served most of his career in India. Life He was born on 14 December 1820 the son of Jane Whiteside and her husband, the eminent Edin ...

. His youngest brother was the eminent accountant, David Maclagan

(1824-1883) manager of the Edinburgh Life Assurance company. Douglas was educated at the Royal High School and the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 1833. He subsequently toured hospitals in London and in continental Europe with James Young Simpson. On his return to Scotland, Maclagan was appointed Assistant Surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. He lectured on '' Materia Medica'' at the Edinburgh Extramural School of Medicine 1845-1862. Maclagan was a close friend of toxicologist Robert Christison, and he developed an interest in toxicology and

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 ...

. He was elected a Fellow of the

in 1843, his proposer being Robert Christison. He served as their Curator 1856-1878, Vice President 1878-1890, and President 1890-1895. Maclagan was appointed to the Chair of Medical Jurisprudence and Public Health at the University of Edinburgh in 1862, retiring in 1897. This included some of the world's first lectures on Forensic Science. He died at home, 28 Heriot Row in Edinburgh on 5 April 1900. He is buried with his wife and children in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...

on the west side of Edinburgh. He is buried in his father's plot, against the north wall of the original cemetery, backing onto the north extension.

Trials of Note

In his role both as a toxicologist and forensic scientist Maclagan gave evidence in many trials, including some very notable cases: *Junior assistant to Robert Christison in the medical evidence for the Burke and Hare trial *Affirmed the victim was poisoned by arsenic in the Madeleine Smith trial (1857) *Affirmed use of poison in the trial of Eugene Marie Chantrelle (1878)

Artistic Recognition

A bust of Maclagan by Sir John Steell is held at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

Positions of Note

*President of the Royal Medical Society 1832 *President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh 1859-1861 *President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh 1884-1887 *President of the

1890-1895 *Honorary Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Britain *President of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts 1900 *Brigade Surgeon to the Royal Company of Archers

Honours

Maclagan was knighted in 1886.

Publications

* ''A probationary essay on carbuncle'' (1833) * ''Cases of Poisoning with Remarks'' (1849) * ''Nugae canorae medicae: lays by the poet laureate of the New Town Dispensary'' (1850)

Family

Maclagan was married to Elizabeth Allan Thomson (d.1885). They had twin daughters who died in infancy in 1842, plus a further infant daughter who died in 1850. A son, David Philip Maclagan, was a surgeon in the Royal Navy and died in

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

in 1860, aged only 23. Nellie, their only surviving daughter, died in 1892 aged 48. His son Dr

Robert Craig Maclagan Dr Robert Craig Maclagan FRSE FRCPE (6 March 1839 – 12 July 1919) was a Scottish physician, anthropologist and author from the Maclagan family. He was co-founder of the Scottish Association for the Medical Education of Women. Life He was bor ...

(1839–1919) was a prominent physician and anthropologist.