Dr Richard Huie

FRCSEd The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...

(16 August 1795 – 10 July 1867) was a 19th-century Scottish surgeon who served as President of the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...

for the period 1840 to 1842. An ardent Christian he was also a popular hymn-writer, with at least 29 hymns to his name.

Life

He was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

on 16 August 1795, the son of Mary Gordon, and her husband James Huie. His father moved the family to Crosscauseway in Edinburgh's South side around 1809, to work for

Excise file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...

. Huie was educated nearby, at the

High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

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 ...

before setting up practice in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

. Following his mother's death his father married Marjory Ziegler.Ewing, William ''Annals of the Free Church'' In 1822 he moved from Dundee to

, living at 16 Nicolson Street, close to Surgeons Hall. By 1830 he had moved to a larger house at 8 George Square. In 1823 he was elected a member of the

Aesculapian Club The Aesculapian Club of Edinburgh is one of the oldest medical dining clubs in the world. It was founded in April 1773 by Dr. Andrew Duncan. Membership of the club is limited to 11 Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and ...

and served as Honorary Secretary from 1827-1842. In 1824 Huie 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 ...

and served was President in 1828 and 1832. He also served as one of the secretaries of the society from 1828-1849. In 1840 he succeeded Dr Adam Hunter as President of the

. In 1842 he was succeeded in turn by Dr Andrew Fyfe. In 1842 in his role as President, he wrote to the

Poor Law Commission The Poor Law Commission was a body established to administer poor relief after the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. The commission was made up of three commissioners who became known as "The Bashaws of Somerset House", their secretary ...

giving a medical view on the new laws. He lived his final years at 8

George Square, Edinburgh George Square () is a city square in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is in the south of the city centre, adjacent to the Meadows. It was laid out in 1766 outside the overcrowded Old Town, and was a popular residential area for Edinburgh's better-off c ...

. He died on 10 July 1867 aged 71. He is buried in East Preston Street Burial Ground in south

. The grave lies on the extreme western boundary wall.

Family

His sister Mary Gordon Huie married Rev James Fettes, also a Free Church minister. His brother John Ziegler Huie (1822-1864) was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland who settled in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

and died there. In September 1818 he married Eliza Syme (1795–1865), daughter of Alexander Syme, a

merchant. Together they had two daughters and five sons; Anne Katherina Huie (1821–1884),Grave of Richard Huie, East Preston Street Cemetery their eldest son Richard Huie was a children's author, their eldest daughter, Eliza Syme Huie, married George Hair Newall, and their son David Huie (1831–1919) was a prominent figure in the

Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company () is a major retail banking, retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest and Ulster Bank. The Royal Bank of Sco ...

Publications

*''The Family Hymn Book'' (1825) *''The Amethyst'', a Christian annual co-written with

Robert Kaye Greville Dr. Robert Kaye Greville FRSE FLS LLD (13 December 1794 – 4 June 1866) was an England, English mycologist, bryology, bryologist, and botanist. He was an accomplished artist and illustrator of natural history. In addition to art and scien ...

(1831 onwards). *''Sacred Lyrics'' (1843)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huie, Richard 1795 births 1867 deaths Health professionals from Aberdeen Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish surgeons Scottish religious writers Presidents of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Office bearers of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh Members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh