Address to the Royal Society of Edinburgh by Adam Ferguson.
Date: Written in 1801.
Publication: Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Volume 5, Part 3, 1805, Pages 101-117.
Philosopher and historian Adam Ferguson delivered this address to the Royal Society of Edinburgh on 3 August 1801. The address itself is dated 23 April.
Ferguson describes Joseph Black as 'having made important discoveries, and having laid the foundations of many others, towards erecting a fabric of science which has been raised to a considerable height'.
Black, he said, was distinguished by his 'modesty and felicity of manners, as well as correctness of understanding and ingenuity of research'. He goes on to give an account of Black's life, work and death.
Adam Ferguson was one of the founding members of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and a leading figure in the Scottish Enlightenment.
The end of article gives the author's address as Hallyards in Tweeddale.