Quick Facts
Biography
Thomas Jameson Torrie FRSE (died 1858) was a Scottish advocate, geologist, botanist and author. He was a competent artist and made his own botanical drawings.
Life
He was the son of Patrick Torrie (1763–1810) and Janet Jameson (1776–1853), the sister of Robert Jameson, who was a strong influence upon Thomas.
He trained as a lawyer at Edinburgh University and qualified as an advocate in 1830. However his primary interests lay in scientific investigations. He was President of Edinburgh's Plinian Society, a group of like-minded thinkers and scientists, in 1827. In 1832 he inherited £10,000, a huge sum for the day, enabling him to pursue his scientific interests at leisure.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1834, his proposer was Sir John Robison. At this time he was living at 21 Royal Circus in Edinburgh's Second New Town, an imposing Georgian townhouse. He also served on the Committee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
He visited Mount Vesuvius during an eruption and reported his observations back to several scientific bodies.
He died in Roslin in Midlothian on 7 August 1858
He is buried in Warriston Cemetery.
Family
He married Catherine Paton (1820–1867) in 1846. They had a son, Lawrence Jameson Torrie (born 1852).