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Sir Arthur Mitchell was born in Elgin on 19 January 1826. He was educated at Elgin Academy and then at Aberdeen University, graduating MA in 1845 and MD in 1850. From 1857-1870 he was Deputy Commissioner in Lunacy for Scotland and from 1870-1895 Commissioner in Lunacy for Scotland. In 1880 he was a member of the English Commission on Criminal Lunacy and in 1885 served on a committee on Criminal Lunatics in Ireland. Although his last medical publication was in 1905, from 1861 he was a corresponding member of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland being appointed in 1867 as its first Rhind Lecturer. Highland archaeology and ancient customs and folklore were particular interests and in addition to being a skilled amateur sketcher, he appreciated at a comparatively early date that photography was a useful tool in archaeological and ethnographical research. In 1867 he was awarded a K.C.B. In 1889-1890 he was a member of the Royal Commission on Scottish Universities. He died on 12 October 1909 at 34 Drummond Place, Edinburgh, and is buried in Rosebank Cemetery. |