Dr. William Cullen, to whom medicine lies under deep obligations, and who afterwards raised the medical celebrity of the College of Edinburgh to so high a pitch, had the merit of first perceiving the importance of scientific chemistry, and the reputation which that man was likely to earn, who should devote himself to the cultivation of it. Hitherto chemistry in Great Britain, and on the continent also, was considered as a mere appendage to medicine, and useful only so far as it contributed to the formation of new and useful remedies. This was the reason why it came to constitute an essential part of the education of every medical man, and why a physician was considered as unfit for practice unless he was also a chemist. But Dr. Cullen viewed the science as far more important; as capable of throwing light on the constitution of bodies, and of improving and amending of those arts and manufactures that are most useful to man. He resolved to devote himself to its cultivation and improvement; and he would undoubtedly have derived celebrity from this science, had not his fate led rather to the cultivation of medicine. But Dr. Cullen, as the true commencer of the study of scientific chemistry in Great Britain, claims a conspicuous place in this historical sketch. William Cullen was born in Lanarkshire, in Scotland, in the year 1712, on the 11th of December. His father, though chief magistrate of Hamilton, was not in circumstances to lay out much money on his son. William, therefore, after serving an apprenticeship to a surgeon in Glasgow, went several voyages to the West Indies, as surgeon, in a trading-vessel from London; but tiring of this, he settled, when very young, in the parish of Shotts; and after residing for a short time among the farmers and country people, he went to Hamilton, with a view of practising as a physician. While he resided near Shotts, it happened that Archibald, Duke of Argyle, who at that time bore the chief political sway in Scotland, paid a visit to a gentleman of rank in that neighbourhood. The duke was fond of science, and was at that time engaged in some chemical researches which required to be elucidated by experiment. Eager in these pursuits, while on his visit he found himself at a loss for some piece of chemical apparatus which his landlord could not furnish; but he mentioned young Cullen to the duke as a person fond of chemistry, and likely therefore to possess the required apparatus. He was accordingly invited to dine, and introduced to his Grace. The duke was so pleased with his knowledge, politeness, and address, that an acquaintance commenced, which laid the foundation of all Cullen’s future advancement.