David Smiles Jerdan

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 ...

(1871–1951) was a Scottish businessman and

horticulturist Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

Life

The grave of David Smiles Jerdan, Dean Cemetery

He was born on 12 July 1871 in

Dennyloanhead Dennyloanhead is a village in the Falkirk council area, Central Scotland, that is between Head of Muir and Longcroft. Dennyloanhead had a fingerpost announcing that it is 294 miles from John o' Groats. Old maps show it is 9 miles from Stirling ...

in Stirlingshire in Central Scotland. His father was Rev Charles Jerdan, minister of St Michael Street Church in

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of ...

. He graduated MA from

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

in 1892. He then did further postgraduate studies at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, B ...

where he gained a PhD and Queen's College in Manchester, where he gained a DSc. He was Manager of J & G Cox Ltd, glue and gelatine manufacturers at

Gorgie Gorgie ( ) is a densely populated area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located in the west of the city and borders Murrayfield, Ardmillan and Dalry. Name The name is thought to be Brythonic in origin. Early forms suggest it derives from ''gor g ...

Mills 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 ...

. From here he moved to the linked trade of tanning, becoming Manager of the Tannerie Maroquinerie in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. He later returned to Scotland as Director of A & G Paterson Ltd timber merchants at 60 to 68 Tennant Street in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

. In 1900, 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 ...

. His proposers were Sir John Murray,

Alexander Crum Brown Alexander Crum Brown FRSE FRS (26 March 1838 – 28 October 1922) was a Scottish organic chemist. Alexander Crum Brown Road in Edinburgh's King's Buildings complex is named after him. Early life and education Crum Brown was born at 4 Bell ...

, Robert Irvine and John Gibson. He died on 5 December 1951. He is buried in the 20th century north extension to

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 o ...

in western

with his wife, KatherineMcLean Jerdan (1872–1936).

Publications

*''The Direct Union of Carbon and Hydrogen'' (1897) co-written with William Arthur Bone.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jerdan, David Smiles 1871 births 1951 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Glasgow Scottish businesspeople Businesspeople in timber People from Falkirk (council area) Scottish horticulturists Heidelberg University alumni