Robert Christison was born in Edinburgh on 18 July 1797. He was educated at the Royal High School and then at Edinburgh University, graduating in 1819. He was a resident medical assistant in the Royal Infirmary, 1817 to 1820, and a brief period of study in London followed, at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, before he went to Paris to study analytical chemistry which laid the foundations for his future reputation as a toxicologist. On his return to Edinburgh in 1821, he became involved right away in the contest for the Chair of Medical Jurisprudence at Edinburgh University, and Christison was appointed to the Professorship in 1822. He then set about giving a scientific basis to medical jurisprudence, particularly toxicology.
In his capacity as medical adviser to the Crown in Scotland, from 1829 to 1866, he acted as medical witness in nearly every prominent case in Scotland, including the trial of Burke and Hare and the trial of Madeleine Smith. In 1827 he was appointed physician to the Infirmary, and then in 1832 he resigned his Chair of Medical Jurisprudence and was appointed to the Chair of Materia Medica and Therapeutics which he held until 1877.
In 1848, Christison was appointed Physician in Ordinary to the Queen in Scotland, and in 1871 he became a Baronet. He was elected twice as President of the Royal College of Physicians, 1839, and 1848, and was also President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1868-1873. Professor Sir Robert Christison died on 23 January 1882.
Scope and Contents
Autograph Letter Signed from Sir Robert Christison to Dr. Bowman [John Eddowes Bowman Jnr], correcting a statement regarding the subject of the Nitrate of Iron as a remedy for chronic diarrhoea. Edinburgh, 11 April 1846.Christison begins the letter by referring to a previous communication received from the South of England on the subject of the Nitrate of Iron as a remedy for chronic diarrhoea. He assumes that Dr Graves took his information from some old pupil of his, who,...
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Autograph Letter Signed from Sir Robert Christison to Robert Herbert Story (future Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, then student at the University of Edinburgh), 9 January 1854. The subject of the letter is the novelist and Whig MP Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873): Christison writes that if he is not "prevented by professional occupations, which are apt to be rather pressing at this season", it will give him great pleasure "to attend on the occasion of the...
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of Sir Robert Christison's notes on his own lectures, that he gave at the University of Edinburgh as Professor of Medical Jurisprudence, and then Chair of Materia Medica and Therapeutics. The notes are not dated but appear to cover the 1830s to 1870s, spanning most of his career. Some notebooks appear to be in his own hand, while later volumes may have been written by a clerk or secretary.Box 1 (Dk.4.56/1): Materia Medica and Therapeutics...
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The letter from Christison, 40 Moray Place [ Edinburgh], Monday 4 August [1862], to David Cousin of the City Chambers, refers to a 'long report' read by Dr. Bennett, on the Buildings Committee of the University. The report referred to how 'a careful survey' found the buildings were 'in a condition of great disrepair'. With regard to this, Christison had found, as 'Convenor of Finance', that he had 'a sum of £300' available in the general accounts, and explained that since Dr. Bennett and the...
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This collection consists of four letters sent by Sir Robert Christison to William Sharpey, all from Edinburgh, dated 21 April [1837?], 16 December 1857, 25 December [1857?], and 20 October 1863.
Edinburgh, 21 April, no year [1837?]: 2 pages, Octavo. Letter recommending the Glasgow-born chemist Thomas Graham to the Chair of Chemistry at the University of London.
...
Scope and Contents
This fonds consists of 18 volumes of manuscript notes taken at medical lectures at the University of Edinburgh between 1873 and 1874. At the front of each volume the subject of the lecture and the name of the lecturer is provided.The subjects covered are:
Pathology (Vols. I-IV);
Materia Medica (Vols. I-II);
Midwifery (Vols. I-IV);
Surgery (Vols I, II, and V only);
Clinical Surgery (Vols. I-II);
Practice of Physic...
Scope and Contents
This sub-fonds consists of the papers of Sir Robert Christison (1797-1882), toxicologist and physician, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (1838/40 and 1846/48) and President of the British Medical Association (1875).
Manuscript notebooks for autobiography (4 notebooks)
Notes of highland expeditions and holidays, etc. 1854-1881 (Skye with Dr Sharpey, 1854; Braemar...
Content Description
This fonds contains the papers of:
Professor Alexander Christison FRSE (1751-1820), Professor of Humanity at the University of Edinburgh from 1806 to his death in 1820, father of Sir Robert Christison.
Sir Robert Christison, 1st Baronet, FRSE FRCSE FRCPE (1797-1882), toxicologist and physician, father of Sir Alexander Christison (1828-1918).
John Christison (1789-1862),...
