Alexander Small (332)

Alexander Small (1710–31 August 1794) was a physician, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1773. Born in Perthshire, Scotland, Small began his career as a surgeon in the British Army before settling in London in 1736. He became close friends with Benjamin Franklin, and the two corresponded regularly and intimately for the remainder of Franklin’s life. Small also joined many learned societies, namely the Society of the Arts, and the APS. He contributed essays to these institutions on various topics, including agriculture, which he was well-versed in enough to have invented the chain plow. He died in Hertfordshire, England.