David Macbeth Moir (5 January 17986 July 1851) 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 ...

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and writer.

Biography

Moir was born at

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 ...

on 5 January 1798, the son of Elizabeth Macbeth (1767–1842) and Robert Moir (''d''. 1842). He was educated at Musselburgh Grammar School. At the age of 13 he was apprenticed to the medical practitioner Dr Stewart, studying with him for four years while also attending classes 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 ...

, from where he graduated in 1816. In 1817 he entered into a partnership with Dr Brown, a Musselburgh doctor, practising there until his death. He was a contributor of both prose and verse to the magazines, and particularly, with the signature of Delta, to ''

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 ...

''. His life is featured in the book, ''The "Blackwood" Group'' by Sir George Douglas, Edinburgh: Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier, 1897. In 1846 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 ...

. A collection of his poetry was edited in 1852 by

Thomas Aird Thomas Aird (28 August 180225 April 1876) was a Scottish poet, best known for his 1830 narrative poem '' The Captive of Fez''. Early life and education Aird was born in 1802 at Bowden, Roxburghshire. His parents were James Aird, a builder, an ...

. Among his publications were the famous ''Life of Mansie Wauch, Tailor'' (1828), which shows his gifts as a humorist, ''Outlines of the Ancient History of Medicine'' (1831), and ''Sketch of the Poetical Literature of the Past Half Century'' (1851). He is one of several writers who are claimed as the author of the " Canadian Boat-Song". On 22 June 1851, while away from home, he was seriously injured when dismounting his horse. He died in on 6 July 1851 at

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

as a result of his injuries. He was buried on 10 July 1851 at Inveresk Church, Musselburgh. He is commemorated by a memorial statue, which was erected in Musselburgh in 1853. There are also several street names in the town which make reference to him, and a branch of the pub chain

Wetherspoons J D Wetherspoon (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a British pub company operating in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim ...

opened in February 2012 is named The David Macbeth Moir.

Family

In June 1829 he married Catherine Elizabeth Bell at Carham Church,

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, and together they had 11 children. Their daughter Annie Marie Moir married Rev William Milligan and their children included the church historian Oswald Milligan and Rev. George Milligan.

References

External links

His entry in ''Significant Scots''
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moir, David Macbeth 1798 births 1851 deaths 19th-century Scottish writers 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Alumni of the University of Edinburgh People from Musselburgh Scottish medical historians People educated at Musselburgh Grammar School 19th-century Scottish poets 19th-century Scottish historians Members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh