Recent from talks
George Combe
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
George Combe
George Combe (21 October 1788 – 14 August 1858) was a Scottish lawyer and a spokesman of the phrenological movement for over 20 years. He founded the Edinburgh Phrenological Society in 1820 and wrote The Constitution of Man (1828). After marriage in 1833, Combe devoted his later years to promoting phrenology internationally.
George Combe was born at Livingston's Yards, Edinburgh, the son of Marion (née Newton, died 1819) and George Combe, a prosperous brewer in the city. His younger brother was the physician Andrew Combe. After attending the High School of Edinburgh, he studied law at the University of Edinburgh, entered a lawyer's office in 1804, and in 1812 began a solicitor's practice at 11 Bank Street.
In 1820 Combe moved his office to Mylnes Court on the Royal Mile and moved house to 8 Hermitage Place in Stockbridge. In 1825 he moved with Andrew to 2 Brown Square off the Grassmarket. The Combe brothers lived together in a large dwelling at 25 Northumberland Street in the New Town from 1829.
In 1815, the Edinburgh Review contained an article on the system of "craniology" devised by Franz Joseph Gall and Johann Gaspar Spurzheim, denouncing it as "a piece of thorough quackery from beginning to end". When Spurzheim came to Edinburgh in 1816, Combe was invited to a friend's house, where he watched Spurzheim dissect a human brain. Impressed by the demonstration, he attended a second series of Spurzheim's lectures. On investigating the subject for himself, he became satisfied that the fundamental principles of phrenology were true: "that the brain is the organ of mind; that the brain is an aggregate of several parts, each subserving a distinct mental faculty; and that the size of the cerebral organ is, caeteris paribus, an index of power or energy of function."
His first essay on phrenology was published in Scots Magazine in 1817, and were followed by a series of papers Literary and Statistical Magazine. The writings were collected and published in 1819 in book form as Essays on Phrenology and, in later editions, as A System of Phrenology. In 1820, Combe helped to found the Phrenological Society of Edinburgh, which in 1823 established a Phrenological Journal. His lectures and writings also drew attention to phrenology in Europe and the United States.
Combe began to lecture at Edinburgh in 1822. He published a Manual, Elements of Phrenology, in June 1824. He took private tuition in elocution; contemporaries described him as clever and opinionated. Combe's discussions had an air of confidentiality and theatrical urgency. Converts came in, societies sprang up and controversies began.
A second edition of Elements, 1825, was attacked by Francis Jeffrey in the Edinburgh Review of September 1825. Combe replied in a pamphlet and the journal. The phrenologists were attacked again in 1826 and 1827 by Sir William Hamilton in addresses to the Royal Society of Edinburgh. The sharp controversy included challenges to public disputes and mutual charges of misrepresentation, in which Spurzheim took part. The correspondence appeared in the fourth and fifth volumes of the Phrenological Journal.
In 1836, Combe stood for the chair of Logic at the University of Edinburgh against two other candidates: Sir William Hamilton and Isaac Taylor. Hamilton won by 18 votes against 14 for Taylor. In 1838 Combe visited the United States to study the treatment of criminals there. He initiated a programme of public education in chemistry, physiology, history and moral philosophy.
Hub AI
George Combe AI simulator
(@George Combe_simulator)
George Combe
George Combe (21 October 1788 – 14 August 1858) was a Scottish lawyer and a spokesman of the phrenological movement for over 20 years. He founded the Edinburgh Phrenological Society in 1820 and wrote The Constitution of Man (1828). After marriage in 1833, Combe devoted his later years to promoting phrenology internationally.
George Combe was born at Livingston's Yards, Edinburgh, the son of Marion (née Newton, died 1819) and George Combe, a prosperous brewer in the city. His younger brother was the physician Andrew Combe. After attending the High School of Edinburgh, he studied law at the University of Edinburgh, entered a lawyer's office in 1804, and in 1812 began a solicitor's practice at 11 Bank Street.
In 1820 Combe moved his office to Mylnes Court on the Royal Mile and moved house to 8 Hermitage Place in Stockbridge. In 1825 he moved with Andrew to 2 Brown Square off the Grassmarket. The Combe brothers lived together in a large dwelling at 25 Northumberland Street in the New Town from 1829.
In 1815, the Edinburgh Review contained an article on the system of "craniology" devised by Franz Joseph Gall and Johann Gaspar Spurzheim, denouncing it as "a piece of thorough quackery from beginning to end". When Spurzheim came to Edinburgh in 1816, Combe was invited to a friend's house, where he watched Spurzheim dissect a human brain. Impressed by the demonstration, he attended a second series of Spurzheim's lectures. On investigating the subject for himself, he became satisfied that the fundamental principles of phrenology were true: "that the brain is the organ of mind; that the brain is an aggregate of several parts, each subserving a distinct mental faculty; and that the size of the cerebral organ is, caeteris paribus, an index of power or energy of function."
His first essay on phrenology was published in Scots Magazine in 1817, and were followed by a series of papers Literary and Statistical Magazine. The writings were collected and published in 1819 in book form as Essays on Phrenology and, in later editions, as A System of Phrenology. In 1820, Combe helped to found the Phrenological Society of Edinburgh, which in 1823 established a Phrenological Journal. His lectures and writings also drew attention to phrenology in Europe and the United States.
Combe began to lecture at Edinburgh in 1822. He published a Manual, Elements of Phrenology, in June 1824. He took private tuition in elocution; contemporaries described him as clever and opinionated. Combe's discussions had an air of confidentiality and theatrical urgency. Converts came in, societies sprang up and controversies began.
A second edition of Elements, 1825, was attacked by Francis Jeffrey in the Edinburgh Review of September 1825. Combe replied in a pamphlet and the journal. The phrenologists were attacked again in 1826 and 1827 by Sir William Hamilton in addresses to the Royal Society of Edinburgh. The sharp controversy included challenges to public disputes and mutual charges of misrepresentation, in which Spurzheim took part. The correspondence appeared in the fourth and fifth volumes of the Phrenological Journal.
In 1836, Combe stood for the chair of Logic at the University of Edinburgh against two other candidates: Sir William Hamilton and Isaac Taylor. Hamilton won by 18 votes against 14 for Taylor. In 1838 Combe visited the United States to study the treatment of criminals there. He initiated a programme of public education in chemistry, physiology, history and moral philosophy.
Recent media