About the Chair
During the tercentenary celebrations of 1884, Louis Pasteur visited Edinburgh University. He took a keen interest in the many breweries for which the city was famous and which had benefited from the results of Pasteur's research.
While in Edinburgh Pasteur stayed with Henry J Younger who introduced him to Alexander Low Bruce who was a partner in the Younger Brewing firm. As a result of the meeting Alexander Bruce decided he would like to found a new Chair of Public Health within Edinburgh University. Just prior to his death he instructed his legal adviser, a Mr Crole, to ensure the proper use of his bequest for this purpose.
A sum of £15,000 which included donations from Mr Bruce's family, the Younger firm and Sir John Usher of Norton (pictured) was offered to the University Commissioners and in 1898 a new Professorship in Public Health was established. It was known as the "Bruce and John Usher Chair of Public Health" and was the first of its kind in Britain.
There have been 8 holders of this chair.
