Frederick Pattison Pullar

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". ...

FRGS The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

FRSGS (20 January 1875–16 February 1901) was a 19th century Scottish meteorologist who served as Sir John Murray's right-hand for his short career. He is often referred to simply as Fred Pullar.

Life

He was born in

Bridge of Allan Bridge of Allan (, ), also known colloquially as ''Bofa'', is a former spa town in the Stirling (council area), Stirling council area in Scotland, just north of the city of Stirling. Overlooked by the National Wallace Monument, it lies on th ...

near

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

on 20 January 1875 the son of the industrialist Laurence Pullar and his wife, Ellen Ferguson Pattison. He was educated at Stanley House School at

then at the High School in Stirling. He then attended the West of Scotland Technical College in Glasgow. Around 1893 he entered the family firm of Pullars of Perth founded by his grandfather, John Pullar, in the 1820s. In 1897 Frederick's father Laurence Pullar commissioned his friend, Sir John Murray to undertake an entire survey of all Scottish fresh water lochs. This was on condition that Sir John employed his then 22 year old son Frederick to assist in the task. However, Frederick, although having no formal university training, proved more than competent in this role. Frederick and Sir John spent over three years together, surveying 15 lochs beginning with

Loch Lubnaig Loch Lubnaig () is a small freshwater loch near Callander in the Stirling council area, Scottish Highlands. It lies in the former county of Perthshire. It is part of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. The loch nestles in the spa ...

. In this they utilised a device known as Pullar's Sounding Machine. The sounding machine appears to have been named after the father, rather than Frederick, the father having undertaken his own highly competent bathymetrical surveys from at least 1885. In 1901 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 ...

. His proposers were Sir John Murray, Alexander Buchan, Robert Munro and

John Horne John Horne PRSE FRS FRSE FEGS LLD (1 January 1848 – 30 May 1928) was a Scottish geologist. He served as president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh from 1915 to 1919. Life Horne was born on 1 January 1848, in Campsie, Stirlingshire, the ...

. On 15 February 1901 he was skating with several hundred people on Airthrey Loch in front of

Airthrey Castle Airthrey Castle is a historic building and estate which now forms part of the buildings and grounds of the University of Stirling in central Scotland. The 18th-century building with 19th-century additions occupies a beautiful setting in ...

, when the ice gave way. Accounts related that Pullar rescued three people and returned to rescue a young woman. Both he and the woman drowned; he was 26 years old. He is buried in Logie Churchyard, just east of Stirling. The memorial stands east of the church and was commissioned by his parents from the sculptor

George Frampton Sir George James Frampton, (18 June 1860 – 21 May 1928) was a British sculptor. He was a leading member of the New Sculpture movement in his early career when he created sculptures with elements of Art Nouveau and Symbolism, often combinin ...

. They were later buried beside him. The results of his work and his measuring device brought about the publication of the ''Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh Water Lochs of Scotland'' in 1910. Airthrey Loch now forms a focal point within the grounds of

Stirling University The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airthr ...

Family

His uncles included James Frederick Pullar and Sir

Robert Pullar Sir Robert Pullar (18 February 1828 – 9 September 1912) was a Scotland, Scottish Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom. Life Pullar was born at Burt's Close in Perth, Scotland, Perth on 18 February 1828, the elde ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pullar, Frederick Pattison 1875 births 1901 deaths Scottish meteorologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Deaths by drowning in the United Kingdom