John Macadam Summary

This article is about an Australian chemist, medical teacher and politician. For other uses, see McAdam.

John Macadam (Dr) (May 1827 - September 2, 1865), was an Australian (Scottish-born) chemist, medical teacher and politician. The Macadamia nut was named after him in 1857 by his colleague Ferdinand von Mueller . Macadam was born in Northbank, near Glasgow, Scotland. He studied chemistry at the Andersonian University and the University of Edinburgh, later switching to medicine at Glasgow. In 1855, he went to Melbourne, where he had been appointed as a lecturer in chemistry and natural science at Scotch College. During this time he officiated as one of two umpires at one of the earliest recorded games of Australian rules football. In 1858 he was also appointed as the Victorian Government Analytical Chemist. He later became the first lecturer to teach at the University of Melbourne School of Medicine. On March 3, 1862, he commenced lectures in chemistry. Between 1857 and 1862 he served as Honorary Secretary of the The Philosophical Institute of Victoria which later became the Royal Society of Victoria, and was appointed Vice-President in 1863. During this time he was Honorary Secretary of the Exploration Committee that organised the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition. He was also a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the Victorian Parliament. Macadam died in 1865 after a ship-board accident. His grave is in Melbourne General Cemetery.

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