Laurence Brooke 
Biography of Laurence Brooke
Robert and Laurence Brooke, Attested Students 1773
Laurence Brooke enrolled at the University of Glasgow in 1773 as a student of Medicine. He was born in 1758 to a prominent landowner family, Richard and Ann Brooke, owners of Smithfield plantation, Virginia, USA. He was sent with his older brother, Robert to Scotland to study Medicine.
Both brothers matriculated at the University of Glasgow in 1773 to study an Arts course, both registering for William Richardson's Latin class. In the 1775, they signed the resgister of attested students promising "to attend the lectures [...] for the space of three months at least from the above date [14 November 1755]" in front of John Anderson, Thomas Hamilton and William Richardson.
However, the Revolutionary War in America (1775-1783) interrupted Laurence's studies, forcing him to escape to France to evade capture by the British. Laurence stayed in France and eventually travelled to Nantes where he boarded the ship Bon Homme Richard, offering his medical services to doctor John Paul Jones on a letter of recommendation by Benjamin Franklin. Laurence returned to Virginia in August 1783 and practiced Medicine in Smithfield, Virginia. He died at the age of 45 in Fredericksburg.
Sources
Other Online Resources
Archival Materials
- Addison, W. Innes, The Matriculation Albums of the University of Glasgow from 1728 to 1858
Summary
Laurence Brooke
Born 28 August 1758.
Died 1803.
GU Degree: Arts, 1773;
University Link: Student
Occupation categories: physicians
English snippet: Arts student at the University of GlasgowRecord last updated: 28th Mar 2013
Country Associations
United States, Virginia, Smithfield
Place of Birth
United States, Virginia, Fredericksburg
Place of Death
France, No Region
University Connections
University Roles
- Student
