Dr John Hope

Dr. Hope was born in Edinburgh on 10 May 1725, the son of a surgeon descended from the judicial family of Lord Rankeillor and, on his mother’s side, from the ancient Glass family of Stirlingshire. Educated at Dalkeith and the University of Edinburgh under Dr. Monro and other founders of its medical school, he later studied on the Continent, devoting particular attention to botany. After taking his medical degree at Glasgow in 1760, he rose rapidly in professional standing, becoming Professor of Materia Medica and Botany at Edinburgh in 1761 and King’s Botanist for Scotland, later Regius Professor of Botany. He was the first to introduce the Linnæan system in Scotland and did much to advance botanical study through his teaching, prizes for students, and the establishment of a new Botanic Garden near Edinburgh. Alongside his professorship he served as physician to the Royal Infirmary and was noted for his humane practice. Married with five children, he died in 1786 while President of the Royal College of Physicians, leaving a lasting legacy in Scottish medicine and botany.