Helenus Scott M.D. (1760–1821) was a Scottish physician.

Career

He was born at

Auchterhouse Auchterhouse (; ) is a village, community, and civil parish in the Scottish council area of Angus, located north west of Dundee, south east of Alyth and south west of Forfar. It lies on the southern edge of the Sidlaw Hills, below Auchter ...

, the son of the local minister. He attended

Dundee Grammar School The High School of Dundee is a private, co-educational, day school in Dundee, Scotland, which provides nursery, primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils. Its foundation has been dated to 1239, and it is the only private sc ...

, after which he studied science at

Marischal College, Aberdeen Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has been the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. The building was constructed for and is on long-term lease fr ...

from 1773 to 1777, and then studied medicine 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 ...

until 1779. He entered the medical service of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, and served chiefly in the Bombay presidency. Scott became a correspondent of

Sir Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James Co ...

in London. At the beginning of 1790 he responded to a request from Banks on the

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

industry with an extensive report. Later that year he sent Banks samples of

wootz steel Wootz steel is a crucible steel characterized by a pattern of bands and high carbon content. These bands are formed by sheets of microscopic carbides within a tempered martensite or pearlite matrix in higher-carbon steel, or by ferrite and pea ...

. He played a part in the founding of the botanical gardens in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

in 1791. Scott worked also as an agent for the local manufacture of

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

in Bombay, and spirits, from 1796. On 24 July 1797 he was created M.D. by 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 ...

. In 1802 he carried out the first successful

vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

in Bombay. After thirty years in India, Scott returned to England, and began practice at

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

. On 22 December 1815 he was admitted a licentiate of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

, and in 1817 began to practise as a physician in

Russell Square Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, built predominantly by the firm of James Burton (property developer), James Burton. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Mus ...

, London. He attained to considerable practice, and died on 16 November 1821. He was then at sea, on , voyaging with two of his sons to Australia.

Medical publications

In 1817 he contributed a paper to the ''Transactions'' of the Medico-Chirurgical Society on the use of nitromuriatic acid in medicine. Its frequent employment in the treatment of

enteric fever Enteric fever is a medical term encompassing two types of salmonellosis, which, specifically, are typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever. Enteric fever is a potentially life-threatening acute febrile systemic infection and is diagnosed by isolating ...

and other maladies originated in his advocacy.

Novels

Scott published a

novel of circulation The novel of circulation, otherwise known as the it-narrative, or object narrative, is a genre of novel common at one time in British literature, and follows the fortunes of an object, for example a coin, that is passed around between different ow ...

, ''The Adventures of a Rupee'', in 1781. Another novel was ''Helena, or the Vicissitudes of Military Life'' (1790).

Family

Scott married Augusta Maria, daughter of Colonel Charles Frederick. Their sons included Robert, Helenus, and

Alexander Walker Scott Alexander Walker Scott (10 November 1800 – 1 November 1883) was an Australian entomologist mainly interested in butterflies. Scott was the son of Dr Helenus Scott, Helenus and Augusta Maria Scott. He was born in Bombay, India and was educated ...

. One of the stained glass windows in the Garrison Church, Sydney, was installed in memory of Helenus and Augusta.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Helenus 1760 births 1821 deaths 18th-century Scottish medical doctors 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Scottish novelists Medical doctors from Dundee People educated at the High School of Dundee Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of the University of Edinburgh