Alexander MacFarlane

Alexander MacFarlane ( – 23 August 1755) was a Scottish polymath who was active as an astronomer, merchant, mathematician, judge, politician and planter. Born in Scotland, MacFarlane graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1728 and immigrated to the British colony of Jamaica, where he settled down to a career as a merchant and acquired several sugar plantations operated with slave labour. In addition to working as a judge and politician, MacFarlane also pursued an amateur career in astronomy in Port Royal and Kingston, using equipment purchased from fellow astronomer Colin Campbell. After his death in 1755, MacFarlane bequeathed his plantations to his brothers and his astronomical equipment to the University of Glasgow, which used it to establish an observatory, naming it Macfarlane Observatory in his honour. Early life Alexander MacFarlane was born in Scotland . His parents were John MacFarlane, who died in 1705, and Lady Helen Arbuthnot, the daughter of Robert Arbuthnot, 2nd Viscount of Arbuthnott; the Arbuthnot family's motto was Astra castra, Numen lumen (the stars my camp, the Lord my light). The youngest of four sons, MacFarlane entered the University of Glasgow, graduating from the university with a Master of Arts degree in 1728. After he graduated, MacFarlane immigrated to the British colony of Jamaica.