Medical Archives

The following are our chief archive and manuscript resources for medical research.

This list, however, is by no means comprehensive. For a fuller overview of our collections, consult the Archives Catalogue.

General

John Hughes Bennett (1812-1875) was Professor of Institutes of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh from 1848 to 1874. He is best known for the first description of leukaemia as a blood disorder. The collection consists of notes taken down from his lectures on physiology and pathology.

William Murray Cairns (1865 or 1866-1949) graduated in Medicine from the University of Edinburgh in 1891. He initially worked as Clinical Assistant to the University's Professor of Midwifery and Gynaecology before spending the rest of his career in clinical practice in his native Liverpool. The collection consists of notes from lectures attended at the University of Edinburgh and at the Extra-Mural Medical School at Surgeon's Hall.

Sir Robert Christison (1797-1882) was Professor of Medical Jurisprudence at the University of Edinburgh from 1822 to 1832 and Professor of Materia Medica from 1832 to 1877. He served as Medical Officer to the Crown in Scotland, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and President of the British Medical Association. He was a notoriously vocal opponent of medical education for women. The papers consist primarily of notes taken down from his lectures.

William Cullen (1710-1790) was Professor of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh from 1755 to 1766, then Professor of Practice of Physic from 1769 to 1789. One of the leading medical figures of Enlightenment Scotland, he focused on the role of the nervous system and introduced the term 'neurosis' into medicine. This diverse collection includes notes taken down from Cullen's lectures.

Arthur Robertson Cushny (1866-1926) was Professor of Materia Medica and Pharmacology at the University of Edinburgh from 1918 to 1926, having previously held posts in the United States, Germany, and England. He is perhaps best known for the pioneering Textbook of Pharmacology and Therapeutics. The papers includes notes for lectures and records of experiments.

Andrew Duncan the Elder (1744-1828) was Professor of Institutes of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh from 1789 to 1821. Duncan opened the first free hospital in Scotland, was the first British medic to lecture on forensic medicine, and was joint founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. The papers include notes taken from Duncan's lectures and some correspondence.

Andrew Duncan (1773-1832) succeeded his father Andrew Duncan the Elder (1744-1828) as Professor of Institutes of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. He had previously held the Chair of Medical Jurisprudence (1807-1819). He is regarded as a pioneer in the fields of forensic medicine and public health. The papers include letters and other materials mostly concerning Duncan's travels and studies abroad. There are also notes taken down from his lectures.

Sir Thomas Richard Fraser (1841-1920) was Professor of Materia Medica and Clinical Medicine at the University of Edinburgh from 1877 to 1917. A leading pharmacologist and toxicologist, he was one of the first to establish a relationship between physiological activity and the chemical constitution of the body. The papers consist of notes taken down from his lectures and details of experiments.

James Gregory (1753-1821) was Professor of Institutes of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh from 1776 to 1789 then Professor of the Practice of Physic from 1790 to 1821. He served as Head of the University's School of Medicine and President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The collection consists of notes taken down from Gregory's lectures and clinical casebooks.

Francis Home (1719-1813) was Professor of Materia Medica at the University of Edinburgh from 1768 and 1798, have previously served as a military surgeon during the Seven Years War and as general practitioner in Edinburgh. The papers include notes taken down from Home's lectures and clinico-medical case notes.

James Home (1760-1844) succeed his father Francis Home as Professor of Materia Medica at the University of Edinburgh from 1798. On the death of James Gregory in 1821, he moved to the Chair of the Practice of Physic, which he held until 1842. The collection consists of notes taken down from Home's lectures and a clinical journal.

Edinburgh graduate Sir James Mackenzie (1853-1925) was a general physician and medical researcher who made an outstanding contribution to the study of heart disease. After working in general practice in Burnley, and as a consultant to the Military Heart Hospital, London, he returned to Scotland in 1918 to set up the Institute for Clinical Research at St Andrews. This collection includes manuscripts of published works, notes, correspondence, offprints, press cuttings and personal materials.

George Eugene Philip is better known as the crime-writer Philip Grant. He graduated in Medicine from the University of Edinburgh in 1960. This collection consists of notes taken from undergraduate lectures between 1954 and 1960, including courses delivered by Derrick Dunlop, Philip Myerscough, and Robert Cruickshank

John Rutherford (1695-1779) was Professor of the Practice of Physic at the University of Edinburgh from 1726 to 1766. He one of the founders of the University's Medical School and is best known as a pioneer of clinical teaching. The collection consists primarily of notes taken down from his lectures.

Sir Thomas Grainger Stewart (1837-1900) was Professor of the Practice of Physic at the University of Edinburgh from 1876 to 1900, and is best known for his studies of kidney, lung and nervous diseases. He served as President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and succeeded Sir Robert Christison as Physician-in-Ordinary to Queen Victoria in Scotland. The collection consists of notes taken down from his lectures and some correspondence.

John Wyllie (1844-1916) was Professor of the Practice of Physic at the University of Edinburgh from 1900 to 1914. He is known for his work on speech disorders and the physiology of the larynx. The papers consists of notes taken down from his lectures.

Anatomy

Daniel John Cunningham (1850-1909) was Professor of Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh from 1903 to 1909. He is best known for his 'Text-Book of Anatomy' and 'Manual of Practical Anatomy', which long remained standard works in the field. The collection includes notebooks, working papers, drawings, drafts of lectures, and correspondence with eminent anatomists. There are also photographs from Cunningham's service on the South African War Royal Commission.

Alexander Monro (1697-1767) was the first of a remarkable dynasty of medics that occupied the University of Edinburgh's Chair of Anatomy from 1720 to 1846. The appointment of Monro Primus has been seen as signalling the birth of the university's Medical School. This collection includes several volumes of notes taken down from Monro's lectures. See here too for a volume containing Monro's class lists, 1720-1749.

Alexander Monro Secundus (1733-1817) succeeded his father as Professor of Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh in 1758. He is known for providing detailed descriptions of the lymphatic and musculo-skeletal systems and for introducing clinical medicine into the medical curriculum.  The collection consists of notes taken down from Monro's lectures. See here for further relevant materials.

Alexander Monro Tertius (1773-1859) succeeded his father as Professor of Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh in 1808. His students included a young Charles Darwin. The collection consists of notes taken down from Monro's lectures and some correspondence.

Sir William Turner (1832-1916) was Professor of Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh from 1867 to 1903. Best-known as a brain surgeon, he also served as President of the General Medical Council and as Principal of Edinburgh University from 1903 to 1917. The collection consists of anatomical demonstrations, notes taken down from his lectures, and some correspondence.

Botany

Charles Alston (1685-1760) was Professor of Botany and Materia Medica at the University of Edinburgh from 1738-1760, in which capacity he also served as the Keeper of Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Gardens. He is best remembered as a critic of the Linnaean system of plant classification. This diverse collection of materials includes student notes taken down from Alston's lectures and correspondence.

Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour (1853-1922) was Professor of Botany at the University of Edinburgh and Keeper of the Royal Botanic Gardens from 1888 to 1922. He is best known for instigating a major redevelopment of the Botanic Gardens, involving the establishment of an improved botanical institute and arboretum, and the building of scientific laboratories. The collection includes: material relating to Balfour's work on the flora of Socotra and to other botany expedition; class tickets; lecture notes; material relating to the University of Edinburgh Commission of 1858 and its Reports on Botany.

Robert Brown (1908-1999) was Professor of Botany at the University of Edinburgh from 1958 to 1977. He oversaw the move of the Department of Botany from the Royal Botanic Garden to King's Buildings. The papers include manuscripts, notebooks, photographs, and offprints.

Daniel Rutherford (1749-1819) served as Professor of Botany (1786-1820) and Professor of Materia Medica (1786-1798) at the University of Edinburgh. He is most famous for his discovery (via isolation) of nitrogen gas. The collection consists of manuscript essays and notes taken down from his lectures.

Forensic Medicine and Medical Jurisprudence

After a long and distinguished career in Edinburgh as Chief Police Surgeon, as extra-mural lecturer in medical jurisprudence, and as the city's Medical Officer of Health, Sir Henry Duncan Littlejohn (1826-1914) was appointed Professor of Forensic Medicine at the University of Edinburgh in 1897. He is regarded as a major pioneer of both forensic science and public health. This collection includes notes taken down from Littlejohn's lectures in 1897 and 1905. See here for further Littlejohn materials held in Edinburgh University Archives.

Sir Henry Harvey Littlejohn (1862-1927) succeeded his father Sir Henry Duncan Littlejohn as Professor of Forensic Medicine at the University of Edinburgh in 1906. He also followed in his father's footsteps by becoming the city's Chief Police Surgeon. These materials include notebooks, post-mortem casebooks, and post-mortem photograph albums.

Sir Douglas Maclagan (1812-1900) was Professor of Medical Jurisprudence at the University of Edinburgh from 1862 to 1897. A distinguished toxicologist who gave evidence at some noted criminal trials (Burke and Hare, Madeleine Smith), he extended the public health scope of the chair. The collection consists primarily of notes taken down from Maclagan's lectures.

History of Medicine

On his retirement from practice as an otolaryngologist in 1945, Douglas Guthrie (1885-1975) was appointed Lecturer on History of Medicine at Edinburgh University, holding the post until 1956. He published 'A History of Medicine' (1945) and monographs on Joseph Lister, John Leyden, and the Royal Edinburgh Hospital for Sick Children. The collection includes notebooks, working materials for his studies of Lister and Leyden, typescripts of lectures, and correspondence with fellow academics.

Mental Health

After working as a medical missionary in India, Winifred Rushforth (1885-1983) trained as an analytic psychotherapist at the Tavistock Clinic and set up in private practice in Edinburgh. In 1939, she opened the Davidson Clinic for Medical Psychotherapy, which aimed to bring family support and advice to the community. In later life, she promoted a New Age spirituality informed by both psychoanalysis and Christian models. The collection consists of: administrative and financial records of the Davidson Clinic; correspondence; family papers; manuscripts of talks and published works; notebooks and journals.

Midwifery

Sir John Halliday Croom (1847-1923) was Professor of Midwifery at the University of Edinburgh from 1905 to 1921, having previously worked as a Consulting Gynaecologist at the city's Royal Infirmary. He was elected President of both the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. The collection consists of notes taken down from Croom's lectures and correspondence.

Pathology

William Smith Greenfield (1846-1919) was Professor of Clinical Medicine and General Pathology at the University of Edinburgh from 1881 to 1912. He is particularly known for his work on the anthrax virus. The collection consists of notes taken down from Greenfield's lectures together with class lists.

Surgery

The British Auxiliary Legion fought alongside Spanish Liberal forces in the First Carlist War (1833-1840). This collection consists of notes of surgical cases arising from their campaign, particularly of cases treated in the general military hospital of San Telmo, San Sebastian. There is also a volume of statistical returns of sick and wounded admitted to the military hospitals of the Legion in Spain.

Sir George Ballingall (1780-1855) was Regius Professor of Military Surgery at the University of Edinburgh from 1825 to 1855. He had previously served as a military surgeon in India and as part of the allied army during the Napoleonic Wars. The papers consist of correspondence connected to his academic work, to publication, and to military medical matters, especially with reference to the Crimean War. 

John Chiene (1843-1923) was Professor of surgery at the University of Edinburgh from 1882 to 1909. Besides his influential academic work, he served as a military surgeon during the Boer War and founded the Edinburgh Ambulance Service. The collection consists of notes taken down from his lectures, together with some correspondence.

Joseph Lister (1827-1912) was Professor of Clinical Surgery at the University of Edinburgh from 1869 to 1877. He is regarded as the foremost pioneer of antiseptic surgery, applying Louis Pasteur's microbiological research to promote a sterile operational environment. This diverse collection includes correspondence, testimonials, certificates, and the commission of Queen Victoria appointing him to the Edinburgh Chair.

James Syme (1799-1870) was Professor of Clinical Surgery at the University of Edinburgh from 1833 to 1869. One of Europe's leading surgeons, he performed Scotland's first amputation at the hip joint in 1823, and gave his name to the Syme Amputation of the ankle joint. The collection consists of notes taken down from Syme's lectures and a volume of diplomas and press-cuttings.

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