20 MEMOIR OF JCHN HUNTER. 



ther was a daughter of Mr Paul, a respectable citi- 

 zen of Glasgow, and treasurer of the burgb. 



He was born at Long Calderwood, a small estate 

 6elonging to the family, on the 13th- 14th February 

 1728. Sir E. Home states his birth, by mistake, 

 on the 1 4th July. But the parish-register bears the 

 13th February, and on the 14th of that month, the 

 Royal College of Surgeons of London celebrates the 

 anniversary of the birth of this distinguished indivi- 

 dual. 



John was the youngest of ten children, five of 

 whom died in infancy. James, the eldest of the 

 brothers who attained to manhood, was born in 1715. 

 After prosecuting the legal profession in Edinburgh 

 for some time, he, in the year 1742, visited his bro- 

 ther William, then a teacher of anatomy in London ; 

 and so much was he captivated by this pursuit, that 

 he resolved to abandon his profession, and devote 

 himself to medicine. His success promised to rival 

 that of either of his brothers ; but his health unfor- 

 tunately gave way, and he died of a pulmonary com- 

 plaint in the 28th year of his age. 



The next brother, William, born in 1718, early 

 rose to unrivalled distinction as a teacher of anato- 

 my in London, attained a professional reputation 

 which could not be exceeded, and a celebrity second 

 only to that of his brother John. By unwearied 

 industry, and at vast expense, he formed the mu- 

 seum which immortalizes his name, and which, by 

 his liberality, now enriches the University of Glas- 



