Neil Arnott
Encyclopedia
Neil Arnott was a Scottish
physician
.
Neil Arnott FRS was a distinguished graduate of Marischal College
, University of Aberdeen
(AM, 1805; MD 1814) and subsequently learned in London under Sir Everard Home
(1756-1832), through whom he obtained, while yet in his nineteenth year, the appointment of full surgeon
to an East Indiaman. After making two voyages to China
acting as a surgeon in the service of the British East India Company
(1807-9 and 1810-11), he settled in London where he practiced from 1811-1854, and quickly acquired a high reputation in his profession. He gave lectures at the Philomathic Institution published as Elements of physics (1827). He was one of the founders of the University of London
, 1836. Within a few years he was made physician to the French and Spanish embassies, and in 1837 he became physician extraordinary to the Queen. He was elected to the Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1838. He was a strong advocate of scientific, as opposed to purely classical, education; and he manifested interest in natural philosophy by the gift of 2,000 pounds to each of the four universities of Scotland
and to the University of London, to promote its study in the experimental and practical form.
, and to this added an inventiveness which served him in good stead in his profession and yielded the Arnott waterbed in 1832, which later was developed into a water-filled chair intended to prevent seasickness. Other inventions include the Arnott ventilator, the Arnott stove, etc.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
.
Neil Arnott FRS was a distinguished graduate of Marischal College
Marischal College
Marischal College is a building and former university in the centre of the city of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland. The building is owned by the University of Aberdeen and used for ceremonial events...
, University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
(AM, 1805; MD 1814) and subsequently learned in London under Sir Everard Home
Everard Home
Sir Everard Home, 1st Baronet FRS was a British physician.Home was born in Kingston-upon-Hull and educated at Westminster School. He gained a schoalrship to Trinity College, Cambridge, but decided instead to become a pupil of his brother-in-law, John Hunter, at St. George's Hospital...
(1756-1832), through whom he obtained, while yet in his nineteenth year, the appointment of full surgeon
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
to an East Indiaman. After making two voyages to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
acting as a surgeon in the service of the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
(1807-9 and 1810-11), he settled in London where he practiced from 1811-1854, and quickly acquired a high reputation in his profession. He gave lectures at the Philomathic Institution published as Elements of physics (1827). He was one of the founders of the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, 1836. Within a few years he was made physician to the French and Spanish embassies, and in 1837 he became physician extraordinary to the Queen. He was elected to the Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1838. He was a strong advocate of scientific, as opposed to purely classical, education; and he manifested interest in natural philosophy by the gift of 2,000 pounds to each of the four universities of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and to the University of London, to promote its study in the experimental and practical form.
Publications
He was the author of several works, bearing on physical science or its applications, the most important being his Elements of physics (1827), which went through six editions in his lifetime. In 1838 he published a treatise on warming and ventilating, and in 1855, one on the smokeless fireplace.- On the Smokeless Fire-place, Chimney-valves, and Other Means, Old and New of obtaining Healthful warmth and ventilation (London: Longman, Green, Longman & Roberts, 1855)
- Elements of Physics (Philadelphia: Blanchard & Lea, 1856) (US edition, with additions by Isaac Hays)
- A Survey of Human Progress (London: Longman, Green, Longman & Roberts, 1861)
Inventions
From his earliest youth, Arnott had an intense love of natural philosophyNatural philosophy
Natural philosophy or the philosophy of nature , is a term applied to the study of nature and the physical universe that was dominant before the development of modern science...
, and to this added an inventiveness which served him in good stead in his profession and yielded the Arnott waterbed in 1832, which later was developed into a water-filled chair intended to prevent seasickness. Other inventions include the Arnott ventilator, the Arnott stove, etc.