Adair Crawford (441)

Adair Crawford (1748–29 July 1795) was a chemist, physician and member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1785. Born in Antrim, Northern Ireland to the Reverend Crawford and his wife Anne Mackey, he matriculated at the University of Glasgow in 1764, studying theology, arts and medicine. During his studies, a professor inspired Crawford to embark on a series of experiments to determine the specific heat of gases. Eager to share his findings, he presented them at the student medical society at the University of Edinburgh in 1777 and later published them as Experiments and Observations on Animal Heat, and the Inflammation of Combustible Bodies in 1779. His publication garnered respect amongst the scientific community and influenced British researchers for over thirty years until new experiments in 1812 disproved his claims. After completing his M.D. in 1780, Crawford relocated to London where he became a physician at St.Thomas’s Hospital and professor of chemistry at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He was inducted to the Royal Society in 1786. Sadly, poor health forced Crawford to retire early to the estate of the marquess of Lansdowne at Lymington, Hampshire, where he died on 29 July 1795. (DNB)