Stevenson Macadam
Prof Stevenson Macadam FRSE FIC FCI FSSA (1829-1901) was a Scottish chemist, academic author and patriarch of a small dynasty of Scottish scientists including his son, William Ivison Macadam and grandson Ivison Stevenson Macadam. He was a co-founder of the Chemical Institute and Chemical Society of London. To friends and colleagues he was generally termed Stevie Macadam.
Life
He was born at North Bank in Glasgow on 27 April 1829. He was the brother of Dr John Macadam after whom the Macadamia nut was named. The brother emigrated to Australia in 1855 and never returned.[1]
He studied at the Glasgow Mechanics Institute. He received his doctorate (PhD) from Geissen University. Whilst in Germany he also spent some time working in the famous laboratory of Robert Bunsen.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1855 his proposer being George Wilson. In 1862 he served as President of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts.[2] In 1850 he began lecturing in the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh continuing until 1900. From 1855 he began lecturing in Chemistry at Edinburgh University and rose to be a full professor. He also lectured at the Edinburgh School of Art and both Edinburgh’s Veterinary Colleges. His course led to the qualification ChB, representing a full understanding of medical drugs and their properties. A huge number of Scotland’s medical and veterinarian elite passed through his course. He was President of the Royal Scottish Society of the Arts 1864-5.[3]
He lived at 25 Brighton Place in Portobello, Edinburgh from 1860 onwards.[4] The family also had a country cottage in Innerleithen.
He died on 24 January 1901. He is buried in Portobello Cemetery in eastern Edinburgh. The grave lies midway along the original eastern path (before the eastern extension). His wife and second son lie with him. His son William Ivison Macadam and grandson Ivison Macadam lie around 20m to the south.
Family
He married Jessie Andrew Ivison (1834-1912) in Renfrew in 1855. They had five children:[5]
- William Ivison Macadam born at 11 Brandon Street in Edinburgh
- Helen Ann Cochran Macadam also born at 11 Brandon Street
- Jessie Margaret Mary Macadam, born at 25 Brighton Place, Portobello
- Stevenson John Charles John Macadam FIC FCS (d.1939), born at 25 Brighton Place
- Constance Elizabeth Louise Macadam, born at 25 Brighton Place
His grandson was Ivison Macadam.
Publications
- Botany the Plant and its Food (1855)
- The Chemistry of Common Things (1866)
- Inorganic Chemistry (1866) (co-author with George Wilson)
- Practical Chemistry (1881)
External Links
References
- ↑ http://www.earthwords.fsnet.co.uk/macadam.htm
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ http://www.rssa.org.uk/history/past-presidents.shtml
- ↑ Edinburgh and Leith Post Office directory (Portobello) 1863-64
- ↑ http://www.shelwin.com/e/ancestry/macadam/macadam_history3.htm