Grave of mathematician John Playfair to be marked

THE GRAVE of one of Scotland's most eminent scientists and mathematicians is finally to be marked - almost 200 years after he died, it was revealed today.

John Playfair was a leading figure in the Scottish Enlightenment - professor of mathematics and of natural philosophy at Edinburgh University, and renowned for his 1802 book Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth, which brought to a wide audience the work of the "father of modern geology", James Hutton.

As first President of the Edinburgh Astronomical Institution Playfair also helped establish the Scottish capital as the "Athens of the North" as the major driving force behind the iconic Greek style New Observatory on the city's Calton Hill.

Playfair also brought his orphaned six year old nephew, William Henry Playfair, to Edinburgh in 1794, and oversaw his development in to one of the most influential Scottish architects of the 1800s.

He was a wealthy man when he died in July 1819, but he was buried in an unmarked grave in Old Calton Cemetery, on Waterloo Place in Edinburgh.

An impressive monument to Playfair, designed by his nephew William, stands on Calton Hill.

But only now, 191 years after he died, will a 1000 granite memorial finally mark his grave.

Cliff Porteous, a retired geologist who leads parties over Calton Hill, and started a campaign to mark the grave, said: "As a geologist, John Playfair is a hero of mine, particularly for his Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth.

"I take people over Calton Hill to the monument built by his nephew William but when a tourist asked to be taken to his grave I could not locate it.

"I tracked it down to the Old Calton Burial Ground, where his name is listed on a notice board at the entrance. Eventually, after days of research it was confirmed that John Playfair was buried in an unmarked grave adjacent to the philosopher David Hume's monument.

"The lair has three walls with a small step all open to the heavens, but nothing to tell people that this remarkable figure in Scotland's and Edinburgh's history - an important mathematician, astrologer, philosopher and geologist - is buried there.

"John Playfair has an impressive monument on Calton Hill, but he has lain in an unmarked grave for 191 years.

"I'm pleased to say that this state of affairs will be rectified with a suitable granite plaque."

Conservation body Edinburgh World Heritage will help fund the project "in recognition of Playfair's contribution to the city".

A spokesman said: "John Playfair is a leading figure associated with the Scottiah Enlightenment along with the likes of David Hume and Adam Smith.

"It is important that his grave should be commemorated in this way."