- James Currie
James Currie (born
May 31 ,1756 inDumfriesshire ,Scotland ; diedAugust 31 ,1805 inSidmouth ) was a Scottish physician and editor ofRobert Burns .He was a son of the minister of Kirkpatrick-Fleming. Attracted by the stories of prosperity in America he went in 1771 to
Virginia , where he spent five hard years, much of the time ill and always in unprofitable commercial business. The outbreak of theAmerican Revolution ended any further chance of success. He sailed for home in the spring of 1776, and after many delays he reachedEngland a year later. He then proceeded to study medicine atEdinburgh , and after taking his degree atGlasgow he settled atLiverpool in 1780, where three years later he became physician to the infirmary.Among other pamphlets Currie was the author of "Medical Reports on the Effects of Water, Cold and Warm, as a Remedy in Fevers and Febrile Diseases" (1797), which had some influence in promoting the use of cold water affusion, and contains the first systematic record in English of clinical observations with the
thermometer . But he is best known for "The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns: With Explanatory and Glossarial Notes; And a Life of the Author"(1800), long regarded as the standard source for the works of Robert Burns, which he undertook on behalf of the family of the poet. In addition to containing revised versions of Burns' songs such asThe Battle of Sherramuir , it also contained an introductory criticism and an essay on the character and condition of the Scottish peasantry.References
*1911
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