John Young (naturalist)

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John Young, 1871 (photography by Thomas Annan)

John Young (born November 17, 1835 in Edinburgh , † December 13, 1902 ) was a Scottish doctor and paleontologist and from 1866 until his death Regius Professor of Natural History at the University of Glasgow and curator of the Hunterian Museum .

Life

Young attended high school there and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh , graduating with an MD in 1857. During his studies he came under the influence of well-known naturalists. After his studies he practiced for some time as a doctor in the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and Edinburgh Royal Asylum , before which 1860 Ordnance Survey joined the British authority for land surveying . Here he met Roderick Murchison , with whom he befriended.

When the incumbent Regius Professor of Natural History , the American Henry Darwin Rogers , died, Young was offered the successor. Unlike many naturalists , Young taught both zoology and geology , the full naturalistic canon. The curature of the Hunterian Museum went hand in hand with the professorship. During his tenure, Young was responsible for the museum's move from Old College to Gilmorehill in 1870.

Young was interested in many things, painted in his spare time, and was considered a connoisseur of literature and music. His versatility may have prevented him from delving deeper into the sciences of his field, geology and zoology. His greatest life achievement was the systematic cataloging of the manuscript, art and coin holdings of the Hunterian Museum. In addition, he campaigned for the education of women and supported the Technical College.

In 1863, at the suggestion of Alexander Keith Johnston , Young was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh . In 1878 or 1879 he left the company at his own request.

After a period of health problems, Young died on December 13, 1902.

bibliography

  • Physical geography ; Collins Advanced Science Series. 1874
  • Catalog of Pictures, Sculptures and Other Works of Art in the Univerity of Glasgow . 1880

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d CD Waterston and A. Macmillan Shearer: Former Fellows of The Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783 - 2002 . Biographical Index Part Two. Royal Society of Edinburgh, Edinburgh 2006, ISBN 0-902198-84-X , pp. 1022 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e unknown: John Young. In: The University of Glasgow Story. University of Glasgow website, November 12, 2018, accessed June 3, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i John G. McKendrick: Abstract of Prof. John Young . In: Nature . 1903, doi : 10.1038 / 067249a0 .
personal data
SURNAME Young, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish doctor, naturalist and university teacher
DATE OF BIRTH November 17, 1835
PLACE OF BIRTH Edinburgh
DATE OF DEATH December 13, 1902