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Rev. Dr. John Walker: Chemistry, Mineralogy and Geology in Enlightenment Edinburgh (1740-1800)

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Rev. Dr. John Walker: Chemistry, Mineralogy and Geology in Enlightenment Edinburgh (1740-1800) Durham E-Theses The 'ingenious' rev. Dr. John Walker: chemistry, mineralogy and geology in enlightenment Edinburgh (1740-1800) Eddy, Matthew Daniel How to cite: Eddy, Matthew Daniel (2003) The 'ingenious' rev. Dr. John Walker: chemistry, mineralogy and geology in enlightenment Edinburgh (1740-1800), Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/4040/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 The 'Ingenious' Rev. Dr. John Walker: Chemistry, Mineralogy and Geology in Enlightenment Edinburgh (1740-1800) Matthew Daniel Eddy Doctor of Philosophy Department of Philosophy 2003 Abstract Rev. Dr. John Walker (1731-1803) held the Regius Chair of Natural History in the University of Edinburgh's Medical School from 1779 until 1803. As a student of William Cullen, advisor to Lord Kames and friend of Joseph Black, he went on to teach well over seven hundred students and was a founding member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. This study uses his career to trace the course of the nascent earth sciences within the Medical School's local reality. It is based on the publications of Walker and his colleagues, and on the vast archive of his personal manuscripts, correspondence and lecture notes housed in the University of Edinburgh's Special Collections. After Chapter I's biographical introduction, Chapters 2 and 3 concentrate on his early chemical education and show that a principle-based form of experimental pharmacology laid the epistemological and methodological foundation for Edinburgh's interest in mineralogy. This is done by examining the Medical School's 1750s chemistry course in relation to Walker's early publications and then by detailing his mid-career tours and attempts at mineralogical taxonomy. Moving on to his time as Professor of Natural History, Chapters 4 and 5 excavate his 'fossil' sources and vocabulary and detail his 1797 mineralogical system. The final chapter gives an account of his geology lectures and how they were directly affected by his conception of chemistry and mineralogy; special attention is given to geological methodology, time, extraneous fossils and testimony taken from classical works. The conclusion proceeds to illustrate how histories interested in the 'forerurmers' of the chemical revolution and/or the evolutionary paradigm ignore the large number of chemically trained industrialists and medical professionals who contributed to Enlightenment concepts of the earth's form and structure. The 'Ingenious' Rev. Dr. John Walker: Chemistry, Mineralogy and Geology in Enlightenment Edinburgh (1740-1800) Matthew Daniel Eddy Doctor of Philosophy Department of Philosophy 2003 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. 7 jui tm TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Illustrations iii Acknowledgements v Dramatis Personae viii Walker's Timeline ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Biographical Overview 7 Chapter 2 Chemical Principles, Doctrines and Systems 26 Chapter 3 From Chemistry to Mineralogical Classification 49 Chapter 4 Mineralogical Sources & Vocabulary 79 Chapter 5 The 1797 Mineralogical System 103 Chapter 6 Geology and the Natural History of the Earth 128 Conclusion 155 APPENDICES Appendix I A List of Cullen's Salts (c. 1753) 166 Appendix II Cullen's Chemistry Canon (c. 1753) 167 Appendix III Charts of Walker's Mineralogical System 176 Appendix IV Walker's Correspondence List 178 Appendix V Walker's Students 185 Bibliography 201 ILLUSTRATIONS Introduction Plate I. Rev. Dr. John Walker Chapter 1 Plate I. William Cullen Plate II. Lord Karnes Plate in. Natural History Museum Plate IV. Edinburgh 1789 Chapter 2 Plate I. The Uroscopy Plate II. Bladder Stone Extraction Plate III. Five Principle Chemistry & Wallerius Excerpt Plate IV. Black's Symbols Plate V. Moffat Medicinal Well Chapter 3 Plate I. CuUen's Stones Plate II. Walker's Strata Plate III. Co. of Dumbarton Plate IV. Johnson Map 1771 Plate V. Pennant's Skye and Staffa Plate VI. Folk Dance Chapter 4 Plate I. Walker's Library Catalogue Plate II. Wallerius Frontis German/French Plate in. Lapland Linnaeus/Systemae Natura Plate IV. Edinburgh Infirmary/Pharmacopoeia Plate V. Hunter's Bladder Stones/Clerk's Boulders Chapter 5 Plate I. Wallerius' Mineralogical Divisions Plate II. Figures 1 & 2 Plate III. Walker/Pollock on Saxa Stones Plate IV. Clerk's Drawing of Arthur's Seat Chapter 6 Plate I. Joseph Black on Buffon Plate 11. Davy's Strata Plate III. Davy Earth Apparatus Plate IV. Davy's Instructions Plate V. Hamilton's Vesuvius Conclusion Plate I. Hanckwitz Plate II. Clerk's Salisbury Crag Plate III. The Village Chemist 111 This thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree in this or any other university. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Over the course of writing this thesis, I was helped by a great many people. I have taken care to acknowledge most of them at the beginning of each chapter, however a few names deserve special mention. First and foremost, I extend my highest respect and gratitude to my Doktorvater, David M. Knight. Without his penetrating comments, consistent encouragement and overflowing personal library this thesis would have been quite a laughable affair. During my first year of study he also encouraged me to send a copy of what now has become the final chapter of this thesis to Roy Porter. This resulted in a fruitful correspondence and my first publication. Even though Roy passed away last year, I must state my posthumous gratitude for the suggestions and questions that he offered and which eventually helped shape the course of this thesis. One of Roy's suggestions was to explore the links between natural history and medicine. My research into this interaction was greatly guided by the advice of Andreas-Hoiger Maehle. He encouraged my work on principle-based chemistry and I am especially grateful for his personal notes on Charles Alston that he lent to me. The content of this thesis would also have been much thinner had not significant sections of it been read by Hugh S. Torrens and David R. Oldroyd. Hugh's no-nonsense enthusiasm was a great encouragement, while David's primary source suggestions proved to be invaluable. Helpful advice was offered along the way by Bill Brock, Trever Levere, Hasok Chang, Robin Hendry, Barry Gower, David E. Allen, Jonathan Topham, Aileen Fyfe, Paul Clark, Momme von Sydow, Frank A. J. L. James, Peter Bowler, Paddy Fitzpatrick and Joe Butterfield. Several of the individual chapters were closely read by Peter Morris, E. Charles Nelson, Geoffrey Cantor, John H. Brooke, Ursula Klein, and Charlie Withers. Indeed, my initial work on John Walker was greatly enhanced by Charlie's correspondence. He not only closely read my ill-focused essays, but also sent me a large file of notes that he had taken on Walker. This was a great help throughout my thesis and shaved some time off the dark winter afternoons that I had to spend in Edinburgh's many archival collections. Likewise, there were several times when I needed guidance on archival references. My Scottish queries were faithfully fielded by Arnot Wilson and the rest of the team that work with the University of Edinburgh's Navigational Aids for the History of Science and Technology (NAHSTE). Further south, I must express my gratitude to Robert Fox for his ability to translate the nomenclature of Oxford's obscure archival collections. Additionally, I would like to thank the anonymous reviewers of the journals and publishing companies which have published earlier drafts of the work that appears in this thesis: History of Science, Ambix, British Journal for the History of Science, Archives of Natural History and Ashgate Publishers. Finally, no piece of academic research is ever feasible without personal support and encouragement. I would therefore like to thank my family and Thani Hadjifotiou for withstanding the poles between my frustrations and joys. Being in residence at St. John's College provided me a home away from home and I had many an interesting conversation with Bishop Stephen Sykes, Chloe Starr, Robert Scott-Biggs, Scott Mason, Rico Este-Walle, Archie Wright, Corrie and Brad Embry, Nicola Morley, Howard 'the Amazing Porter', and all the staff in Cramner Hall. Also, the University of Durham's Department of Philosophy has a friendly postgraduate community. Even though my research was more historical than philosophical, both the departmental staff and students remained keenly interested in my work—so much so that I was able to join the editorial team of the department's tri-annual journal Philosophical Writings. I will ever remember the warm atmosphere engendered by my fellow managing editors: Andreas Pantazatos, Simon James, Julia Tanner, Gerald Harrison and Jonathan Tallant. A special thanks to Andreas for his wealth of Greek neologisms and to Simon for the folk-n-blues guitar sessions. This thesis also would not have been possible without the following studentships and grants: Overseas Research Student Award (Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principles of the Universities of the UK); Residential Fellowship (Ustinov College, University of Durham); Residential Fellowship, St.
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