Adair Crawford

Crawford, Adair, Dr., younger brother of preceding, distinguished for his researches in chemical physiology, was born in 1748. From early youth he was remarkable for the sweetness of his temper, the excellence of his heart, and the strength of his understanding. Obliged on account of the weakness of his voice to abandon the intention of becoming a Presbyterian clergyman, he turned his attention to law, and finally adopted medicine, qualifying himself at Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities. In 1779 he went to London and published the first edition of the work by which he gained so much celebrity. He settled in the metropolis, was elected a member of the Royal Society, and was, amongst other appointments, made Physician to St. Thomas's Hospital. In 1788 he published a corrected and improved edition of his work, entitled Experiments and Observations on Animal Heat, and the Inflammation of Combustible Bodies, being an attempt to resolve these Phenomena into a General Law of Nature. His reputation as a philosopher was now established, and procured him the notice of the most distinguished men of science in the kingdom. He was also rising into great eminence as a medical practitioner, when incessant application to study and to philosophical pursuits undermined a constitution naturally weak, and he died at Lymington, 29th July 1795, aged about 47. Several references to the value of his researches regarding animal heat will be found scattered through the pages of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 8th Edition.

Sources

124. Encyclopaedia Britannica. London, 1860.