William Wright

William Wright (1735–1819) was a Scottish physician, botanist and slave owner. In 1783 he was a joint founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Life

He was born in March 1735 in Crieff, Perthshire, and was educated at Crieff Grammar School. He served as an apprentice physician with G Dennistoun in Falkirk from 1752 to 1756. He then studied medicine at University of Edinburgh. In 1758 he joined the Royal Navy as a surgeon, serving in the West Indies until 1763. He obtained his doctorate (MD) from St Andrews University in 1763. , and became a navy surgeon in 1760. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1774. Wright was a slaveowner and opposed the abolition of slavery.

In 1764 Wright became the assistant to a Dr. Gray on a sugar plantation in Kingston, Jamaica, where he invested the income from his medical practice into slaves and land. In partnership with Dr Thomas Steel, he built Orange Hill estate

Wright published numerous articles in medicine. His Jamaican collections became an important contribution to natural history. Notably, he described more than 750 plant species, and owned 33 slaves.

He lived his final years at 51 Hanover Street in Edinburgh's New Town.

In 1795 he was visited by Johann Gottfried Schmeisser.

He died in Edinburgh on 19 September 1819 and is buried in the north west section of the western extension to Greyfriars Kirkyard. He never married and had no children.

Botanical Reference

The genus Wrightia (Apocynaceae) and Wrightea (syn. Wallichia, Arecaceae) were dedicated to him. Wrightia was by Robert Brown (1773–1858) and Wrightea by William Roxburgh (1759–1815).