David Maclagan
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David Maclagan FRSE (8 February 1785 – 6 June 1865) was a prominent Scottish medical doctor and military surgeon, serving in the Napoleonic Wars. He served as President of both the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He served as Surgeon in Scotland to Queen Victoria.
Life
Maclagan was born in Edinburgh on 8 February 1785, the son of Robert MacClaggan (d.1785), surgeon, and Margaret Smeiton, his second wife.[1] His father changed his name to Maclagan some time before David was born, to disassociate himself from various Jacobite connections.[2] Maclagan trained as a doctor and surgeon at the University of Edinburgh, graduating with an MD in 1805. Too young to join the army as a surgeon, he travelled to London and studied and practiced at St George’s Hospital. He was admitted into the Royal College of Surgeons in 1807.[3]
From 1808 he served as a military surgeon with the 91st Regiment of Foot,[4] serving during the Walcheren Campaign within the Napoleonic Wars. This action saw huge injuries, and Maclagan's experience would have increased exponentially from this experience. From 1810 to 1813 he served in various military campaigns, including the attack on Badajos during the Peninsular War, the Battle of Salamanca, the Battle of Vittoria, the Battle of the Pyrenees, the Battle of Nivelle and the Battle of Nive.[5]
On return to Britain he became a practicing surgeon in Edinburgh in 1815, partly working for the New Town Dispensary on Thistle Street, which he co-founded in that year. In 1823 he lost out to George Ballingall in the choice for the University of Edinburgh's chair in Military Surgery.[2] He was Consultant surgeon/physician at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary from 1848 until retiral.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1828, his proposer was Sir John Robison.[6]
He campaigned for the abolition of slavery.[7]
He died at home, 129 George Street,[8] in Edinburgh on 6 June 1865. He is buried in Dean Cemetery. The substantial grave lies against the north wall of the original cemetery (backing onto the northern extension). His wife and many of his children and grandchildren are buried with him.
Positions of note
- President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh 1826
- Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (Scotland) 1826
- President of the Medico-Chirurgical Society 1840
- President of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts 1846-47
- President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh 1856-1858
- Deacon for Edinburgh Town Council
- Surgeon to the Queen in Scotland
- Physician to the Army in Scotland
Family
With his wife, Jane Whiteside (1790–1878), Maclagan had an illustrious family including:
- Sir Andrew Douglas Maclagan FRSE LLD (1812–1900), physician and toxicologist
- Philip Whiteside Maclagan MD (1818–1892)
- General Sir Robert Maclagan FRSE (1820–1893), soldier and engineer
- David Maclagan FRSE (1824–1883), manager of the Edinburgh Life Insurance Company (also buried in Dean Cemetery)[7]
- William Dalrymple Maclagan (1826–1910), Archbishop of York
- John Thomson Maclagan (1828–1897)
- James McGrigor Maclagan MD (1830–1892)
His grandchildren included:
- Robert Craig Maclagan FRSE (1839–1919), physician and anthropologist
- Sir Eric Robert Dalrymple Maclagan FSA (1879–1951), art historian
- Rev Canon David Whiteside Maclagan
- Philip Douglas McLagan (1901–1972), painter, son of Philip Whiteside Maclagan.
His great grandchildren include:
- Michael Maclagan (1914–2003)
References
Citations
- ^ "David MacLagan". Geni.com. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ a b D. Doyle (2010). "The Maclagan family: six generations of service" (PDF). The Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. 40 (2): 178–84. doi:10.4997/JRCPE.2010.217. PMID 20695175. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
- ^ Kaufman, MH (May 2006). "Dr David Maclagan (1785-1865): distinguished Military Surgeon, President of both the Royal College of Surgeons and Royal College Physicians of Edinburgh, founder of a medical and military dynasty". Journal of Medical Biography. 14 (2): 75–83. doi:10.1258/j.jmb.2006.05-33. PMID 16607406. S2CID 29452414.
- ^ Kaufman, Matthew H. (2006). "Dr David Maclagan (1785–1865): Distinguished Military Surgeon, President of both the Royal College of Surgeons and Royal College Physicians of Edinburgh, founder of a medical and military dynasty". Journal of Medical Biography. 14 (2): 75–83. doi:10.1258/j.jmb.2006.05-33. PMID 16607406. S2CID 29452414.
- ^ "Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783-2002" (PDF). Royalsoced.org.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ a b Maclagan 1876.
- ^ Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory, 1850-1
Sources
- Maclagan, David (1871). "A Christian Legislator". In Arnot, William (ed.). The Family treasury of Sunday reading. [Continued as] The Christian monthly and family treasury. London, Edinburgh and New York: T. Nelson and sons. pp. 77-83.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. - Maclagan, David (1876). St. George's, Edinburgh. London, Edinburgh and New York: T. Nelson and sons. pp. 126-128. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
See also
- 1785 births
- 1865 deaths
- 19th-century Scottish people
- Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
- Scottish surgeons
- Burials at the Dean Cemetery
- 19th-century Scottish medical doctors
- Presidents of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
- Presidents of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
- Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
- Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
- Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh