| Authorised form of name | MacFarlane; Alexander (1702 - 1755); merchant |
| Dates | 1702 - 1755 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Scotland |
| Date of birth | 1702 |
| Date of death | 23 August 1755 |
| Occupation | Merchant; plantation and slave owner; colonial official |
| Research field | Mathematics |
| Astronomy |
| Activity | Education:
University of Glasgow, MA (1728)
Career:
Emigrated to Jamaica where he became a merchant, planter and owner of enslaved people in Kingston (1735), estates included Biscany in St Elzabeth and Serge Island Jamaica; Assistant judge, Jamaica; member of the Assembly for St Elizabeth, Jamaica (1754-1755); built his house in Jamaica to function as an observatory (1743); bequeathed his scientific instruments to the University of Glasgow, leding to the establishemnt of the MacFarlane Observatory (1757) where the instruments later inspired James Watt FRS
|
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 19/02/1747 |
| Age at election | 44 |
| Relationships | Son of John MacFarlane of Arrochar; youngest brother of Walter MacFarlane, Scottish antiquary |
| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; additional biographical information on Fellows, 17; Wikipedia; UCL LBS
References:
D J Bryden, 'The Jamaican Observatories of Colin Campbell, FRS and Alexander Macfarlane, FRS' in NR 1969 vol 24 pp 261-272
'Alexander Macfarlane', Legacies of British Slave-ownership database, http://wwwdepts-live.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146644157 [accessed 15th July 2020]
The Unviersity of Glasgow people database https://www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk/biography/?id=WH0112&type=P [accessed 21 May 2021] |
| Code | NA7222 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| EC/1746/22 | MacFarlane, Alexander: certificate of election to the Royal Society | 19 February 1747 |