ARNOTT, NEIL, 11.D., was b. in 1788 at Arbroath, but his family home was Dysart, near Montrose, Scotland. He was educated at the grammar school of Aberdeen, and subsequently at Marischal college in time same city, where lie had the advantage of study ing natural philosophy under prof. Copland, one of the most successful expounders of mechanical science then living. A. made choice of medicine as a profession; and after going through the medical course at Aberdeen, he went to London in 1806, where be became the pupil of Sir Everard Home, surgeon of St. George's hospital. After spending some years in the naval service of the East India company, he settled in 1811 as a medical practitioner in London. In addition to his extensive general practice, A. was appointed, in 1815, physician to the French embassy, and afterwards to the Spanish embassy. In 1836, Dr. A. was appointed a member of the senate of the university of London, then established by government. lie was afterwards elected a fellow of the royal society, and then of the geological society. In 1837, he was named a physician extraordinary to the queen.
In 1823-24, Dr. A. was induced to deliver a course of lectures on natural philosophy in its applications to medicine. The substance of these lectures formed the basis of his Elements of Physics, or Natural Philosophy, General and Medical, published in 1827. Of numerous new applications of physical science to medical practice, and to the alleviation of human suffering in general, invented by Dr. A., may be mentioned the water-bed (q. v.). But it is in .connection with improvements in the warming and ventilating of houses that the name of Dr. A. is most extensively known. In 1838, he published a treatise on Warming and Ventilating ; and in 1855, another On the Smokeless Fireplace, Chimney-valres, etc. The "Arnott stove" and "Arnott ventilator," which, with characteristic philan thropy and disinterestedness, Dr. A. refrained from patenting, are noticed under
WARMING AND VENTILATION. In 1861, he published A Surrey of Human Progress, full of interesting and enlightened views on improvement generally. In 1864, appeared Part I. of the long-promised revision of the Physics; this was followed by Part 11., which con tains the subjects of optics and astronomy for the first time, and also an interesting supplement entitled Arithmetic Simplified. A.'s last publication was a small work on national education. He d. in London Mar. 2, 1874. In the year 1859, lie expressed a wish to a friend to make a contribution to Marischal college, Aberdeen, in aid of a course of lectures on natural philosophy, to be available to young men not regular students of the university. The union of the two Aberdeen colleges interfered with the project; and a few years later lie gave £1000 to the united university, to provide a scholar ship in natural philosophy. This was followed by the same gift to each of the other three Scottish universities, and, for Aberdeen, a further gift of £500 to the mechanics' institution. In London, Mrs. Arnott had already given £1000 to each of two colleges for young ladies, to constitute. scholarships for natural philosophy. In 1872, Dr. A. inti mated through Dr. Lyon Playfair that lie meant to repeat his gift to the Scottish univer sities; but, in consequence of a fall, his faculties had been permanently impaired, and he was no longer capable of continued thought or decision. An attack of cold in 1858 had permanently affected his hearing; but otherwise, his last years were characterized by his usual flow of spirits. A.'s genius showed itself in a very unusual combination of inventive power with the art of popular exposition. His bent of mind was strongly towards human improvement in every department of thought and conduct.