Person

Macadam, John (1827 - 1865)

Born
29 May 1827
Northbank, Lanark, Scotland
Died
2 September 1865
at sea
Occupation
Chemist and Physician

Summary

John Macadam was appointed Victorian government analytical chemist in 1858 and health officer for the City of Melbourne in 1860. In 1862 he became lecturer in chemistry for the Medical School of the University of Melbourne. He also taught at both Scotch College, Melbourne, and Geelong Church of England Grammar School. In the early 1860s Macadam served terms in the Victorian Legislative as the Member for Castlemaine, being Post-Master General in 1861 and sponsoring Bills related to medical practitioners and the adulteration of food. Macadam was active in the Philosophical Institute of Victoria and its successor the Royal Society of Victoria, holding executive positions, editing their journals, and acting as Secretary of the Exploration Committee organising the Victorian Exploring Expedition from 1858 to 1865. The genus Macadamia (Proteaceae) was named after him by Ferdinand von Mueller.

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Details

Chronology

1846
Award - Elected Fellow, Royal Scottish Society of Arts
1848
Award - Elected Fellow, Glasgow Philosophical Society
1854
Education - Licentiate, Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons, and MD, University of Glasgow
1855
Life event - Migrated to Victoria
1855
Education - Fellow, Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons, University of Glasgow
1855 - 1865
Career position - Lecturer in chemistry and natural science, Scotch College, Melbourne
1856 - 1857
Career position - Member, Philosophical Institute of Victoria
1857
Career position - Teacher, Geelong Church of England Grammar School
1857 - 1859
Award - Life Member, Philosophical Institute of Victoria
1857 - 1859
Career position - Secretary, Philosophical Institute of Victoria
1857 - 1859
Career position - Editor, Transactions of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria
1857 - 1859
Career position - Member (later Secretary), Exploration Committee of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria
1858 -
Career position - Victorian Government Analytical Chemist
1858
Education - MD, ad eundem, University of Melbourne
1859 - 1864
Career position - Member for Castlemaine, Legislative Assembly, Parliament of Victoria
1859 - 1865
Career position - Secretary, Exploration Committee, Royal Society of Victoria
1860 -
Career position - Health Officer, City of Melbourne
1860 - 1862
Career position - Secretary, Royal Society of Victoria
1860 - 1865
Award - Life Member, Royal Society of Victoria
1860 - 1865
Career position - Editor, Transactions and proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria
1861 - 1864
Career position - Postmaster General, Victorian Government
1862 - 1865
Career position - Lecturer in medicine, School of Medicine, University of Melbourne
1863 - 1865
Career position - Vice-President, Royal Society of Victoria

Related Corporate Bodies

Related Events

Archival resources

The University of Melbourne Archives

  • John Macadam - Records, 1862 - 1865; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details

Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions

  • Collins, David, Chemistry in 19th Australia - Select Bibliography, An exhibition of the Encyclopedia circa 2005 with assistance from Ailie Smith and Gavan McCarthy., eScholarship Research Centre (original publisher), Melbourne, 2009, https://eoas.info/exhibitions/ciab/ciab_ALL.html. Details

Book Sections

  • Russell, K. F., 'Macadam, John (1827-1865), analytical chemist, medical practitioner and politician' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 5: 1851 - 1890 K-Q, Douglas Pike, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1974), p. 118. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A050137b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

  • 'The Late Dr. Macadam', Australian Medical Journal (1865). Details
  • Macadam, John, 'Chemical Examination and Analyses of Waters in the Vicinity of Geelong', The Australian Medical Journal, 2 (1857), 17-30. Details
  • Macadam, John, 'On Kerosene', Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, 6 (1865), 61-62. Details

Resources

See also

  • Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Online edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, 3 May 2000, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/index_m.html. Details
  • Science and the making of Victoria, with Royal Society of Victoria, 2001, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/smv/index_m.html. Details
  • McConachie , Ian, 'The Macadamia story', The Californian Macadamia Society yearbook, 1980 (1980), 41-75. Details
  • McConachie, Ian, 'Who discovered Macadamias?', Queensland historical journal, 24 (12) (2022), 1087-102. Details
  • Murphy, Sean, The Cranbourne meteorite (North Melbourne: Australian Scholarly publishing, 2023), 164 pp. Details

Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 6 October 2023

EOAS ID: biogs/P000119b.htm

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