John Moir (physician)


Dr. John Innes Allan Moir FRSE was a 19th-century Scottish physician and obstetrician who held multiple senior positions within the Scottish medical world.

Early life

Moir was born with the grounds of the military prison at Verdun in France on 6 April 1808 the son of Margaret Laing Stenhouse and Dr James Moir, a naval surgeon in the Royal Navy, who was captured by the French when his ship sank in the Channel around 1806. While in prison Moir was allowed to be joined by his wife, hence his birth occurring in prison. Among his younger brothers was James Moir, a merchant who moved to America in 1836.
From around 1815, he lived with his family at 21 Blair Street in Edinburgh's Old Town.

Education and career

He attended the High School in Edinburgh, at that time only a short distance from his home. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh gaining his doctorate in 1828.
In 1865 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh his proposer being John Hutton Balfour.
From 1858 to 1859, he served as president of the Obstetrical Society. From 1865 to 1867, he served as president of the Medico-Chirurgical Society, and from 1867 to 1869, he served as president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

Personal life

In 1845, he married Margaret Louisa Heriot Maitland in Kettle, Fife. Margaret was the daughter of Margaret Maitland-Heriot and James Maitland-Heriot of Ramornie, a grandson of Charles Maitland, 6th Earl of Lauderdale and Lady Elizabeth Ogilvy. They had two sons:
He died at home, 52 Castle Street in Edinburgh's New Town on 14 May 1899. He is buried in New Calton Cemetery.

Descendants

Their grandchildren included Henry Maitland Moir and Margaret Louisa Maitland Moir. He was great grandfather of Father Maitland Moir.