Maclean, John
(01 March 1771–17 February 1814)
- Martin D. Saltzman
Extract
Maclean, John (01 March 1771–17 February 1814), chemist and physician, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of John Maclean, a surgeon, and Agnes Lang. Both Maclean’s parents died when he was very young, and a family friend, George Macintosh, acted as his guardian and guided his education. Following studies at the Glasgow Grammar School, he entered the university at the age of thirteen. Maclean’s major interest was in chemistry, but being of a practical nature he also studied medicine and anatomy in order to qualify as a surgeon. To broaden his chemical knowledge further, Maclean spent the years from 1787 to 1790 studying at Edinburgh, London, and Paris. This period coincided with the definitive phase of the chemical revolution....
