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Joseph Black
Fellow
Date of Fellowship admission: 5 May 1767
Joseph Black was born in Bordeaux on 16 April 1728. Educated in Belfast, he studied medicine and chemistry under William Cullen at Glasgow, becoming Cullen's laboratory assistant. From 1752 he continued at the University of Edinburgh, investigating alkalis and beginning work on heat theory. He practised as a physician, acted as substitute Professor of Chemistry, and in 1766 became Professor of the Institutes of Medicine at Edinburgh. His research established the concepts of latent and specific heat. Black was active in the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, including revising editions of the Pharmacopoeia, and served as a manager of the Royal Infirmary. He died on 6 December 1799 and is buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard.
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Year of medical qualification
11 June 1754
Date of Licence
3 February 1767
Fellowship
The main qualification issued by the College, awarded regularly since the College’s foundation. This qualification was granted based on demonstrated breadth of experience and did not require an individual to pass a certain examination.
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