James Powrie
19th-century Scottish geologist, palaeontologist and astronomer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Life
He was born at Reswallie House in Angus in 1814/15 the son of William Powrie (1770–1845), a Dundee merchant and manufacturer with premises at East Chapelshade (sic).[2] Powrie Lane in Dundee appears to be named after him.[3] His brother Thomas Powrie appears to have run the family business in the 1830s.[4]
James studied science at St Andrews University, graduating MA around 1835. In 1845 he inherited his father's business in Dundee and the Reswallie estate.
In 1865 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposer was David Page.[5]
In 1868/9 he was president of the Edinburgh Geological Society. He regularly corresponded with the botanist George Gordon, Charles William Peach, Sir Edwin Lankester and Henry Woodward.[6]
He died of a heart attack on 25 May 1895. He is buried in the family plot at Rescobie churchyard near Forfar.
A number of his fossils were donated to the Forfar Museum and the Royal Scottish Museum.
Publications
- The Fishes of the Old Red Sandstone (1868)
Family
He was married to Mary Dickson (died 1903).
They had a son Thomas Powrie (1843–1933) and daughter Isabella Powrie (died 1939).
