| Administrative History | William Knight was born in Aberdeen in 1786, the son of a bookseller, and was educated at the Grammar School and at Marischal College, Aberdeen, graduating MA in 1802. He lectured there on natural philosophy but failed to be appointed to the chair in 1811: in 1816 he accepted one in Belfast instead. He only returned to Aberdeen in 1821 to marry the daughter of the Professor of Moral Philosophy, and the following year was appointed at last as Professor of Natural Philosophy. He remained there until his death in 1844, and wrote a considerable quantity of material on the history and characters of Marischal College. |
| Description | This series comprises material collected by Professor William Knight. The material covers a variety of subject matter, which Knight has collated into a series of volumes. The subjects include: the Foundation of Marischal College; Academic subjects such as Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, Botany and History; Notes on a number of geographic locations such as Africa, Italy, France and Scotland. The series also contains a volume of original papers by William Knight. |
| Publication Note | 'Neatness and Order': The diaries and papers of William Knight, Professor of Natural Philosophy, Marischal College, 1823 - 1844 by Iain Beavan, Northern Scotland, Volume 21, 2001, pp. 129 - 139 |