Thomas Brown

Thomas Brown was born in 1778 in Kirkmabreck, Kirkcudbright, the son of Rev Samuel Brown and Mary Smith. Between 1792 and 1803 he studied philosophy, law and medicine at the University of Edinburgh, where he met the philosopher Dugald Stewart. He received his MD in 1803 and briefly practised medicine in Edinburgh, though his passion lay with philosophy. Between 1808 and 1809 he substituted for Stewart as lecturer, and in 1810 he was appointed professor of moral philosophy alongside him. In 1815 Brown was elected a Member of the American Antiquarian Society and contributed to the 'Edinburgh Review'. His writings include 'Observations on the Zoonomia of Erasmus Darwin' (1798), 'Observations on the Nature and Tendency of the Doctrine of Mr Hume Concerning the Relation of Cause and Effect' (1804), and 'Lectures on the Philosophy of the Human Mind' (1820). He died in London in 1820 and was buried in Kirkmabreck.