Biographical entry MacGillivray, Paul Howard (1834 - 1895)

Summary

Paul Howard MacGillivray was a renowned surgeon and one of Australia's top naturalists. While still in Scotland he began studying science, but when his father died in 1852 MacGillivray switched to medicine. In 1855 he was appointed a member of the Royal College of Surgeons and towards the end of that year migrated to Australia. MacGillivray set up a practice in Williamstown (Victoria) and became resident surgeon at Bendigo Hospital. There he developed his surgical skills and wrote many papers on his techniques. The members of the Medical Society of Victoria elected him as their President in 1874. While in Australia, MacGillivray's interest in natural history grew, especially after he joined the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria. MacGillivray wrote and illustrated numerous articles (several on Polyzoa) for Transactions and other significant journals as well as for the book Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria (McCoy, 1878-1890, Melbourne).

Details

Events

1851

Education - Master of Arts (MA) completed at the University of Aberdeen

1852

Life event - Migrated to Australia and set up a practice in Williamstown, Victoria

1852

Career position - A Catalogue of the Flowering Plants and Ferns growing in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen published

1855

Career position - Member of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS)

1857 -

Career position - Member of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria

1859 -

Career position - Regularly contributed articles and illustrations to Transactions - the journal of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria (later the Royal Society of Victoria)

1862 - 1873

Career position - Resident Surgeon at Bendigo Hospital

1874

Career position - President of the Medical Society of Victoria

1880 -

Award - Fellow of the Linnean Society of London

Published resources

Book Sections

• Brown, D. A., 'MacGillivray, Paul Howard (1834-1895), scientist and medical practitioner', in Douglas Pike (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 5, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1974, pp. 155-156. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A050180b.htm. Details

Online Resources

• National Library of Australia, 'MacGillivray, Paul Howard', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1466617. Details

See also

• Science and the making of Victoria, with Royal Society of Victoria, 2001, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/smv/scripts/smv-dynindex.php3?EID=P000117. Details
• Caught & Coloured: Zoological Illustrations from Colonial Victoria, 2006, http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/caughtandcoloured/. Details