William Macfarlane, 17th chief of Clan Macfarlane and 20th Feudal Baron of Arrochar, was born in 1701. He studied in Leiden and Rheims, receiving an MD from the latter in 1725, and an MD from St Andrews in 1727. He inherited plantations in Jamaica in 1755 and later his ancestral lands and titles in 1767, but sold the barony in 1782 amid debts and taxation. Macfarlane died in 1791.

James Spence studied at the University of St Andrews, receiving an MD in 1764. He practised in Dunkeld and later in Durham. After his wife's death in 1777 he moved to Guildford, where he continued in practice. He died in 1786 after a fall from a horse. His daughter Elizabeth Isabella Spence became a novelist.

James Aikman received an MD from Marischal College, Aberdeen, in 1768. College records note that 'no certificate was required' owing to his known merit. He practised in Montrose and appears to have died before 1779.

Also recorded as James Aickman.

James Lind was born in Scotland in 1736. He visited China as a surgeon in 1766 and received an MD from the University of Edinburgh in 1768. In 1772 he accompanied Joseph Banks to Iceland. Lind was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1777 and became a physician to the royal household. He died in London in 1812.

Blog: College Fellows: Curing Scurvy and Discovering Nitrogen

Andrew Duncan the Elder was born near St Andrews in 1744, son of a merchant and shipmaster. After gaining an MA at the University of St Andrews in 1762, he studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 1768. Duncan served as a surgeon on an East India Company voyage to China. He received an MD from the University of St Andrews in 1769 and became a Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1770. Duncan lectured in medicine at Edinburgh between 1774 and 1776, founded a quarterly medical journal in 1773, and published widely. He was President of the College in 1790-1792 and 1824-1825, became First Physician to the King in Scotland in 1821, and served as President of the Edinburgh Medico-Chirurgical Society. He died in 1828.

Talk: Forensic Edinburgh

Talk: The People's Dispensary

Talk: Andrew Duncan: Georgian mental health and public health campaigner

Video: Andrew Duncan and the Royal Edinburgh Hospital

Digitised collection: The People's Dispensary

Blog: The Foundation of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital

Bust: Andrew Duncan

Painting: Andrew Duncan

Biography: Andrew Duncan

William Baylies was baptised in Worcestershire in 1722. He received his MD from the University of Aberdeen in 1748 and began practice in Worcester before moving to Bath, then to London in 1764 to take a post at the Middlesex Hospital. Dismissed for absence, he later moved to Berlin in 1774, where he became physician to Frederick the Great. Baylies died there in 1787.

Thomas Glen was born in Longcroft near Falkirk circa 1704. He studied at Leiden and Rheims, earning his MD in 1726, and received an MD ad eundem from St Andrews in 1730. In 1737 he became a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and served as Surgeon to the North British Fusiliers from 1742 to 1750 but was later unable to serve due to deafness. Glen later joined his brother James, Royal Governor of South Carolina, spending several years there before returning to Britain. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1760. He died in 1786.

Robert Ramsay was born in Blackcraig, Galloway, in 1735 and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, graduating MD in 1757 with a thesis on bile. He then studied at Leiden before returning to Scotland, where he was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1761. In 1767 he became the first Regius Professor of Natural History at the University of Edinburgh, holding the chair until his death in 1778.

Edward Wright FRS, great-grandson and namesake of the 17th-century Principal of the University of Glasgow, was born in Kersie, Falkirk. He received his MD from the University of Edinburgh in 1753 with a thesis on iron and its medical uses. He did not take out a licence to practise until 1760, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh shortly before his death in 1761.

John Gardiner received his MD from the University of Edinburgh in 1758 with a thesis on the medical effects of wine. He served as Physician to the Army garrison at Edinburgh Castle and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1761. Gardiner was College Librarian for many years and served as President from 1782 to 1784. His publications include 'Observations on the Animal Oeconomy' (1784). He died in 1792.