John Murray (c. 1786 – 1851) was a British science writer, lecturer, traveller and

scriptural geologist Scriptural geologists (or Mosaic geologists) were a heterogeneous group of writers in the early nineteenth century, who claimed "the primacy of Biblical literalism, literalistic biblical exegesis" and a short Young Earth creationism, Young Earth ti ...

during the early years of scientific development.

Early life and education

He was born in

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

Galloway Galloway ( ; ; ) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the counties of Scotland, historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council areas of Scotland, council area of Dumfries and Gallow ...

, the son James Murray, sea-captain, and of Grace, his wife. He seemed to develop an interest in science early in life, and in 1815 published ''Elements of Chemical Science as Applied to Arts and Manufactures''. Beginning in 1816, he gave several sciences lectures a year at the Surrey Institute and Mechanics' Institutes becoming "one of the best lecturers in the world", according to

Lord Brougham Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, (; 19 September 1778 – 7 May 1868) was a British statesman who became Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain and played a prominent role in passing the Reform Act 1832 and Slavery ...

. He wrote on chemistry, physics, geology, natural history, and medicine. He was a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (joined in 1822) and of the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

(1823), the

Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript a ...

(1819), and

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

(1824). Also, the Meteorological society of London, The

British Association for the Advancement of Science The British Science Association (BSA) is a Charitable organization, charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Scienc ...

(1837) and the Mechanics' institutes of Exeter, Davonport, Portsmouth and Bristol. In the 1830s he was a prominent

, promoting a reconciliation between the

geologic record The geologic record in stratigraphy, paleontology and other natural sciences refers to the entirety of the layers of rock strata. That is, deposits laid down by volcanism or by deposition of sediment derived from weathering detritus (clays, sa ...

and the

Genesis creation narrative The Genesis creation narrative is the creation myth of both Judaism and Christianity, told in the book of Genesis chapters 1 and 2. While the Jewish and Christian tradition is that the account is one comprehensive story, modern scholars of ...

Later career

He travelled extensively, but lived in

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

most of his life. He was a loyal member of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

and a strong

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

. He moved back to Stranraer in 1850, but a severe illness drained his health and finances and he died an invalid on 28 June 1851.

Bibliography

* (1815) ''The Elements of Chemical Science as applied to the arts and manufactures and natural phenomena''. * (1830) ''A Treatise on Pulmonary Consumption; its prevention and remedy''. * (1831)

840 __NOTOC__ Year 840 (Roman numerals, DCCCXL) was a leap year starting on Thursday in the Julian calendar, the 840th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 840th year of the 1st millennium, the 40th year of the 9th cen ...

''The Truth of Revelation'', 276 pages
second edition
380 pages. * (1838) ''Portrait of Geology'', 214 pages.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, John 1780s births 1851 deaths 19th-century Scottish scientists Fellows of the Geological Society of London Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Fellows of the Royal Horticultural Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London People from Stranraer Scottish geologists Scottish scientists