Professor Andrew Fyfe

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". ...

FRCSE PRSSA PRMS (18 January 1792 – 31 December 1861) was a Scottish

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

and chemist. Following early studies on Fox Talbot's newly created photographic techniques he was one of the first (1839) to work out the theory behind positive rather than negative prints. He had an amateur interest in photography but appears not to have pursued his own theories (later very important in the creation of moving images) and limited his experiments to ferns lying on chemical papers.

Life

Fyfe was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 18 January 1792, the son of Agnes Ord Williamson and Andrew Fyfe. He graduated with an MD 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 ...

in 1814, and became Fellow of the

Edinburgh College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...

in 1818, and was its president in 1842-43. He lectured privately on chemistry and pharmacy at Edinburgh for many years, having been assistant to Professor Thomas Charles Hope. He was elected a 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 ...

in 1823, his proposer being

Thomas Charles Hope Thomas Charles Hope (21 July 1766 – 13 June 1844) was a Scottish physician, chemist and lecturer. He proved the existence of the element strontium, and gave his name to Hope's Experiment, which shows that water reaches its maximum density at ...

. He was an unsuccessful candidate in 1832 for the Chair of

Materia Medica ''Materia medica'' ( lit.: 'medical material/substance') is a Latin term from the history of pharmacy for the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing (i.e., medications). The term derives f ...

at the University of Edinburgh, and again in 1844 for the Chair of Chemistry, which was filled by Professor William Gregory. He successfully applied for Gregory's vacated post as Professor of Chemistry at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

. He retained this professorship till his death on 31 December 1861 in Edinburgh, however he stopped lecturing in the summer of 1860 due to ill health. His knowledge of inflammable substances was reputed, and he gave evidence in official inquiries on such subjects. In the 1830s his address appears as 11 Teviot Row in Edinburgh. The building is now demolished. In the 1840s he is living at 38

George Square, Edinburgh George Square () is a city square in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is in the south of the city centre, adjacent to the Meadows. It was laid out in 1766 outside the overcrowded Old Town, and was a popular residential area for Edinburgh's better-off c ...

. In 1837 he was elected a member 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 ...

. In 1840–41 he was elected President of the

Royal Scottish Society of Arts The Royal Scottish Society of Arts is a learned society in Scotland, dedicated to the study of science and technology. It was founded as The Society for the Encouragement of the Useful Arts in Scotland by Sir David Brewster in 1821 and dedicate ...

. In 1842 he succeeded Dr Richard Huie as President of the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...

. In 1844 he was elected a member of the

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 ...

but resigned his membership in the same year. He died at home at 4 Windsor Street, in east

on 31 December 1861. He is buried in a family vault in

New Calton Cemetery New Calton Burial Ground is a burial ground in Edinburgh. It was built as an overspill and functional replacement to Old Calton Burial Ground and lies half a mile to its east on Regent Road in Edinburgh, Scotland, on the south-east slopes of Ca ...

, with his second wife. The grave lies midway along the northern boundary wheel.

Works

*''Elements of Chemistry'' (1827) 2 vols. (3rd edit. 1833) *''Report on the Comparative Value of

Kelp Kelps are large brown algae or seaweeds that make up the order (biology), order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genus, genera. Despite its appearance and use of photosynthesis in chloroplasts, kelp is technically not a plant but a str ...

and

Barilla ''Barilla'' refers to several species of salt-tolerant (halophyte) plants that, until the 19th century, were the primary source of soda ash and hence of sodium carbonate. The word "barilla" was also used directly to refer to the soda ash obtain ...

'' *''Analyses on Four Specimens of Kelp'' *''On the Improvement of Kelp''

Family

He was twice married: firstly to Eliza Charles, secondly to Margaret Johnstone. He had a daughter by his first marriage. His son by the second marriage, was also named Andrew Fyfe, and was a London physician. A further son, John Fyfe (1891–1917) was also a surgeon, but died young.

References

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Fyfe, Andrew 1792 births 1861 deaths Medical doctors from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Aberdeen Scottish surgeons Scottish chemists 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Presidents of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Scientists from Edinburgh Burials at the New Calton Burial Ground Members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh