Papers of Sir William Turner, 1861-1912
Scope and Contents
This sub-fonds contains mostly letters and certificates relating to honours awarded to Sir William Turner throughout his life, such as the freedom of the city of Edinburgh, honorary memberships to scientific societies, membership to the Order of the Bath and the German Order Pour le Mérite, etc. Also includes documents relating to Turner's anatomy licence, and an envelope entitled ‘her last letter – obituary notices’ containing the last letter of his wife Agnes Logan Turner and two newspaper cuttings referring to her death in 1907.
Papers
- Letter with a red wax seal from the Royal College of Surgeons to Sir W. Turner informing him that he has been elected Ordinary Fellow, dated 30 December 1861.
- Letter from Godfrey Lushington to William Turner dated 29 September 1880, concerning Turner’s anatomical licence.
- Letter from Godfrey Lushington relating to the renewal of Turner’s anatomy licence granted in 1855, 6 October 1880.
- Anatomy licence and accompanying letter addressed to William turner, dated 18 October 1880.
- Letter from Godfrey Lushington to William turner concerning fees to practice anatomy in the premises, 23 October 1880.
- Letter from the Società Romana di Antropologia informing Turner he was elected as a corresponding member, dated 30 April 1895.
- Memorandum from the Grand Priory of the Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem in England, dated 17th June 1889, revised 28th July 1896.
- Letter from David Campbell informing Turner he was elected an Extraordinary Director of the Philosophical Institution, 2 November 1900.
- Certificate granting the dignity of a Knight Commander (Civil Division) of the Order of the Bath to Sir William Turner, 13 February 1901.
- Letter nominating and confirming him ordinary member of the civil division of the second class or Knight Commanders of the Order of the Bath, 10 June 1901.
- Memorandum from the Grand Priory of the Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem in England + extract of charter, 12 November 1901.
- Letter from a Lancaster town clerk relating to the Freedom of the Borough, 28 October 1902.
- Letter sent from the Speculative Society to Sir William Turner, informing him that they have elected him an Honorary Member of the Society, 18 November 1903.
- Note from the Anthropological Society of Washington making Sir William Turner an honorary member, dated January 1905.
- Letter of thanks from the Scottish Branch of the General Council of Medical Education and registration, 15 January 1906.
- Letter from R. Scott-Moncrieff informing him that he was elected a Deputy Governor of the Royal Edinburgh Asylum for the insane, 26 February 1906.
- Letter from the Scottish Meteorological Society to Sir William Turner informing that he has been elected an annual member, dated 30 May 1906.
- Envelope entitled ‘her last letter – obituary notices’ containing the last letter of Agnes Logan Turner (William Turner’s wife) and two newspaper cuttings referring to her death, 1907.
- Letters from Secretary (Minis Hays) of American Philosophical Society to Sir Turner, one dated 20 April 1907, informing him he has been elected a member, + leaflet with lists of officers of the society; and one dated 23 December 1908 on a Geological Society of Glasgow Conference.
- Letter from the Royal Society of New South Wales, Australia, informing him that he was elected Honorary Member of the Society, 15 May 1908.
- Letter from George Chrystal, General Secretary of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, to Sir Will. Turner, 13 October 1908.
- Certificate on vellum making him a Burgess and guild brother of the City of Edinburgh, awarded by the Lord Provost William Slater Brown (et al.) on 16 November 1909.
- Letter from the City Chambers of Edinburgh offering Turner the Freedom of the City, 17 November 1909.
- Letter on the ceremony of conferment of Freedom of the City from Thomas Hunter, town clerk, 25 November 1909.
- Draft reply by Turner to the letter informing he was awarded the Freedom of the City, c 1909.
- Printed pamphlet in German dated November 1911 relating to the Royal Prussian Order Pour le Mérite.
- Copy of letter of thanks to Student Representative Council president, for the address presented on the 18th January 1912. Letter dated 18 January 1912.
- Envelope closed by a wax seal entitled ‘official order “Pour le Mérite”’ containing a letter in German informing William Turner of the conferment of the honour, 17 August 1912.
- Envelope containing letters sent by the chargé d’affaires and the Imperial German Consul of the German Embassy to Sir William Turner, concerning his award of the Knighthood of the German Order Pour le Mérite, and thanking him for his telegram of congratulations on the 25th anniversary of Wilhelm II’s reign. Also includes a printed leaflet in German relating to the Order Pour le Mérite. 1912-1913
- Envelope entitled ‘Baron ... Von Kulhmann Chargé d’affaire’ containing a telegraph informing William Turner about his conferment of knighthood of the Order Pour le Mérite, August 1912.
- Envelope from the German Embassy containing newspaper cuttings relating to William Turner’s nomination for the Royal Prussian Order of Merit (mostly in English, one in German), 1912.
- Letter to William Turner from the German chargé d’affaires (Baron Von Kulhmann) concerning the Order Pour le Mérite, 13 September 1912.
- Certificate in Latin from the Royal Society, dated January 1912.
Diplomas and certificates (outsize)
- Certificate from the Société d’Anthropologie de Paris granting William turner the status of Foreign Associated Member, 9 November 1878.
- Certificate giving Sir William Turner (elder) the right to bear arms, awarded by George Burnett, Lord Lyon King of Arms, when Turner was knighted in 1886. Wax seal in a metal case appended to the document.
- Address of congratulations from the Student Representative Council to Sir William Turner after the conferment of his Knighthood by the Queen in 1886.
- Certificate from Die berlinger gesellschaft Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte, 1 July 1890.
- Certificate from Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh making Sir William turner Deputy Lieutenant in and for the City and County of the City of Edinburgh, 14 December 1891.
- Certificate from the Società Romana di Antropologia, granting William turner the status of corresponding member, dated 26 April 1895.
- Certificate awarded to William Turner by the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences, 1897.
- Diploma awarding an honorary doctorate (LL.D.) from the University of St Andrews to Sir William Turner in February 1902.
- Letter and memo in German from the Royal Prussian Academy of Science, dated 1900 (letter dated 14 March 1898).
- Certificate of medicine in Latin awarded to William Turner by the University of Edinburgh in 1903.
- Certificate from the American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, granting Sir William Turner the status of Member, 21 April 1907.
Dates
- Creation: 1861-1912
Language of Materials
Mostly English, with some correspondence and certificates in German, and some certificates in Latin, French, and Italian.
Conditions Governing Access
Open. Please contact the repository in advance.
Extent
1 folder
9 certificates
Subject
- Turner, Sir William, 1832-1916 (anatomist, professor of anatomy and principal, University of Edinburgh) (Recipient, Person)
- Turner, Agnes, d 1907 (née Logan | wife of Sir William Turner) (Person)
- University of Edinburgh. Students Representative Council (Recipient, Organization)
- Royal Society of Edinburgh (1783-:) (Organization)
Repository Details
Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository
Centre for Research Collections
University of Edinburgh Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
+44(0)131 650 8379
heritagecollections@ed.ac.uk