| Biographical Notes | Sir Andrew Balfour was a Scottish physician, botanist and antiquary. As a doctor, he is reputed to have introduced the dissection of the human body into Scotland and experimented on blood transfusions. As a botanist, he is known for having created, with Sir Robert Sibbald, a 'physic garden' (a garden which provided plants for medicinal use) which eventually became the Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh. Balfour was also active in establishing professorial chairs in Edinburgh University and in founding the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, of which he became president in 1685. See ODNB. |
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