When I use a word . . . Alumni of the Edinburgh Medical School 1726-2026: The Darwins

Four members of the Darwin family studied at Edinburgh Medical School. Three of them - Erasmus and his two sons Charles and Robert - studied in the second half of the 18th century, while Charles the younger, son of Robert, studied in the early 19th century. The younger Charles found medicine boring and did not qualify, yet later became more famous than all the others. The older Charles, uncle of the younger Charles, would have qualified but died before submitting his final dissertation; he likely died from meningococcal septicaemia after dissecting the body of a child with hydrocephalus. Erasmus and Robert pursued successful medical careers. Edinburgh Medical School was founded as a Faculty of Medicine within Edinburgh University in 1726 and was the first of its kind in the English-speaking world.