Biography of Charles Campbell

The first student with links to Indonesia was Charles Campbell, a surgeon and botanist to the East India Company’s establishment at Sumatra. Charles Campbell together with fellow botanist, Charles Miller, provided much field information for William Marsden’s History of Sumatra in 1783, which was the first comprehensive account of the natural history of Sumatra.

Charles Campbell, the second son of the Glasgow merchant James Campbell, studied Arts at the University in the 1760s, before going on to work as a surgeon and botanist for the British East India Company at its trading post and garrison Benkulen (presently known as Bengkulu), in southwest Sumatra.

Sources

Archival Materials

• Addison, W. Innes, A Roll of the Graduates of the University of Glasgow from 31st December, 1727 to 31st Decmeber, 1897, with short biographical notes, Glasgow : J. MacLehose & Sons, 1898.

Summary

Charles Campbell
Born 1750.
GU Degree: Arts, 1767;
University Link: Student
Occupation categories: botanists; surgeons
English snippet: Arts student at the University of Glasgow, surgeon and botanist
Record last updated: 19th Mar 2013

Country Associations

Scotland, No Region
Place of Birth

Indonesia, Sumatra

University Connections

University Roles

• Student