Forensic Edinburgh

Tracing Edinburgh’s forensic history, from the first forensic medicine lectures to the notable the cases of Sir Sydney Smith.

Edinburgh has been at the forefront of forensic medicine since the late 18th century. In 1780s, the University of Edinburgh introduced Britain’s first lectures on the subject, followed by the establishment of a dedicated chair in medical jurisprudence in 1807.

But how did Edinburgh’s medical community shape forensic medicine into a recognised discipline? And would the cases investigated in the 18th century be understood in the same way today?

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Join us at the Physicians’ Gallery as our three speakers - Daisy Cunynghame, John Crichton, and Iain Milne - uncover the city’s rich, and often unsettling, forensic past.

Chaired by Dr John Clark

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Dr Daisy Cunynghame

Daisy Cunynghame completed an MA in Modern History at the University of St Andrews and a Higher Diploma in Archival Studies at University College Dublin. She is the Heritage Manager & Librarian for the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. She was awarded her PhD by the University of Edinburgh in 2020. The focus of this work was ‘The Roles of the Edinburgh, Kelso, and Newcastle Dispensaries in Charitable Relief, 1776-1810’. Her research investigates public health initiatives in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in Scotland and the north of England, with a particular focus on the patient experience within the dispensary system.

Professor John Crichton

John Crichton studied psychology and medicine at University of Nottingham and completed core psychiatric training in Cambridge. He was appointed Nightingale scholar at Cambridge University's Institute of Criminology, completing his PhD in 1997. Prof Crichton was one of the founding Consultants of the first Scottish medium secure mental health services in 2000 and latterly took the lead with female mentally disordered offenders in the clinic. He was the Clinical Director for Forensic Services in Edinburgh from 2009 to 2013 and in the past has also served as Medical Director of the State Hospital and Forensic Mental Health Managed Clinical Care Network. He was the foundation National Training Programme Director for forensic psychiatry and is an Honorary Professor of the School of Law at University of Edinburgh. In 2025 after 28 years as a forensic psychiatrist at Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Prof Crichton was appointed Medical Director of the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland. He has written three books and over 60 peer review publication, recently specialising in homicide prevention.

Iain Milne

Iain Milne had a long career at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. His list of publications reveals a particular interest in 18th and 19th century Scottish medicine. He was co-founder of a website containing historical examples of fair (evidence based) tests in medicine http://www.jameslindlibrary.org/. Iain was the main presenter of the College’s series of Edinburgh Festival Fringe events and was made a Fellow in 2021.

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Free for students (student card required), under 18s (ID card required) and RCPE Fellows or Members.

Please email library@rcpe.ac.uk if you are a student, under 18, RCPE Fellow or Member and would like to be added to the attendee list.