Neil Arnott
Neil Arnott | |
|---|---|
 Neil Arnott | |
| Born | 15 May 1788 Arbroath, Scotland |
| Died | 2 March 1874 (aged 85) |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Awards | Rumford Medal (1854) |
Dr Neil Arnott FRS LLD (15 May 1788 – March 1874) was a Scottish physician.
Life
He was the son of Alexander Arnott and his wife, Ann MacLean of Borreray.
Neil Arnott FRS was a distinguished graduate of Marischal College, University of Aberdeen (AM, 1805; MD 1814) and subsequently studied in London under Sir Everard Home (1756–1832), through whom he obtained, when only eighteen, the appointment of full surgeon to an East Indiaman. After making two voyages to China acting as a surgeon in the service of the British East India Company (1807-9 and 1810–11), he settled in London where he practised from 1811–1854, and quickly acquired a high reputation. He gave lectures at the Philomathic Institution published as Elements of physics (1827). He was one of the founders of the University of London, 1836. Within a few years he was made physician to the French and Spanish embassies, and in 1837 he became physician extraordinary to the Queen. He was elected to the Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1838.
He was a strong advocate of scientific, as opposed to purely classical, education; and he manifested interest in natural philosophy by the gift of 2,000 pounds to each of the four universities of Scotland and to the University of London, to promote its study in the experimental and practical form.[1]
He died in London in 1874 but is buried with his mother in Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh. The simple obelisk lies in the north-west section of the original cemetery, west of the large Beattie obelisk.
Publications
He was the author of several works on physical science or its applications, the most important being his Elements of Physics (1827), which went through six editions in his lifetime. In 1838 he published a treatise on warming and ventilating, and in 1855, one on the smokeless fireplace.[1]
- On the Smokeless Fire-place, Chimney-valves, and Other Means, Old and New of obtaining Healthful warmth and ventilation (London: Longman, Green, Longman & Roberts, 1855)
- Elements of Physics (Philadelphia: Blanchard & Lea, 1856) (US edition, with additions by Isaac Hays)
- A Survey of Human Progress (London: Longman, Green, Longman & Roberts, 1861)
Inventions
From his earliest youth, Arnott had an intense love of natural philosophy, and to this added an inventiveness which served him in good stead in his profession and yielded the Arnott waterbed in 1832, which later was developed into a water-filled chair intended to prevent seasickness. Other inventions include the Arnott ventilator, the Arnott stove, etc.
References
- ^ a b Chisholm 1911.
- Attribution
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Arnott, Neil". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
