Sir Alexander Wilson was born circa 1759. He studied at the University of Edinburgh and graduated from the University of St Andrews with an MA and MD in 1796. He joined the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1799 as a Fellow. Wilson served as a surgeon to the Royal Artillery and Ordnance at Quebec and was knighted for his services. He lived in Bath and died in Clifton in 1837 aged 78.

Matthew Poole was born on 10 July 1771. He was a medical student at the University of Edinburgh from 1788 to 1790. He received his MD from the University of St Andrews in 1789 before joining the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh as a Fellow in 1799. Poole joined the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1796. He became staff surgeon to the 4th Regiment of Dragoon Guards in 1797 and retired with half pay in 1814. When gazetted to his regiment, Poole described himself as belonging to Elgin's Regiment of Fencible Infantry (1794-1802). He died at Waterford, Ireland, on 9 May 1843.

Robert Kennedy was born in 1774. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, enrolling in 1786 and graduating in 1794. His dissertation examined asthma. In 1799 he applied for admission and was admitted in 1800 as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. He ran a medical practice in Edinburgh from 1799 until his death in 1803. Kennedy had a keen interest in chemistry and geology.

Sir William Kennedy was born circa 1780. He studied in Aberdeen, graduating on 12 April 1800, his diploma signed by Dr William Chisholm of Inverness and Dr Thomas Stephen of Elgin. A medical incident in which Kennedy helped save the life of a child in Inverness is recorded in the 'Annals of Medicine' (1801). Kennedy died in 1824.

Thomas Jameson was born circa 1768. He was most likely educated in Edinburgh but graduated MD from Aberdeen in 1791. He was admitted a licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians of London in 1802. Jameson settled in Cheltenham and built a notable medical career there. He also worked at the Finsbury Dispensary, providing treatment to people living in poverty. He was the author of 'A Treatise of the Cheltenham Waters and Bilious Diseases' (1803), 'Essay on the Changes of the Human Body at its Different Ages, the Diseases of Each Period, and the Principles of Longevity' (1811), and 'A Refutation of a Letter from Dr Adam Neale to a Professor of Medicine of the University of Edinburgh, with a Statement of Ulterior Proceedings to Quiet the Minds of the Public Respecting Cheltenham Waters' (1820). He died about 1824.

Nicholas Romayne was born in New York in 1756 and entered the medical school of King's College, New York, in 1774. He enrolled at the University of Edinburgh in 1778, graduating MD in 1780. His thesis, 'De Puris Generatione', on the formation of pus, was well regarded. After graduation he studied further in continental Europe before returning first to Philadelphia and then to New York, where he practised medicine. Romayne was instrumental in advancing medical studies in New York. He was the first president of the New York Medical Society and of the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons. He lectured widely, counting among his students Valentine Seaman, who introduced smallpox vaccination to the United States in 1799, and the poet Joseph Rodman Drake. He died in New York in 1817 aged 61.

Sir Alexander Morison was born in Anchorfield, near Edinburgh, in 1779. He graduated MD from the University of Edinburgh before moving to London in 1808. His first appointment was as inspecting physician of lunatic asylums in Surrey in 1810. While working in London, Morison was president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh from 1827 to 1829. In 1835 he was appointed physician to Bethlem Hospital. In 1838 Morison became personal physician to Princess Charlotte and later to her husband, Prince Leopold. He was knighted the same year. Morison later returned to Edinburgh, where he delivered unofficial courses of medical lectures, focusing on psychiatry. He died in Currie in 1866.

Legacy of Slavery

Morison was one of a group of 'heirs of Thomas Stratton' to Windsor Castle estate, a sugar and rum plantation, in Saint David, Jamaica in 1817. Morison’s wife (Mary Morison nee Cushnie) was his cousin, and had also, separately, been an heir to the Thomas Stratton estate. Mary had also previously received an additional share of the same estate on the death of her father, Alexander Cushnie, in 1799. These inheritances helped to fund Morison’s early life and career, including the building of a property, Larchgrove.

William Ward was born in 1780 and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh. He enrolled in 1797 and received his MD on 12 September 1800. His dissertation was entitled 'De Medicina Pneumatica'. He was a Member of the Royal Medical Society and was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1801.

James Robertson was born in 1772. He studied in Aberdeen, gaining his MD in 1794. Robertson had a career as an army surgeon's mate, becoming an assistant surgeon to the Army Depot on 11 May 1809. He also served as a surgeon in the Naval Hospital in Barbados and as assistant staff surgeon in Jamaica. Robertson died in Jamaica in 1812.

Donald Smith was born in 1756 in Scotland, the younger brother of Rev John Smith of Campbeltown, who wrote and translated in Scottish Gaelic. He graduated from the University of St Andrews in 1785 and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1803. He was a surgeon in Crieff and an army surgeon with the Breadalbane Fencibles at Enniskillen, Ireland, before settling in Edinburgh. Smith was well known as a Gaelic scholar and owner of manuscripts. Along with his brother, he argued for the authenticity of the Ossian poems. A respected authority on Celtic and Gaelic literature, Smith wrote a 'Disquisition on the Ancient Celts' and an 'Ancient History of the Scots', neither of which was published. He died in Edinburgh on 22 May 1805.