Thomas Jameson Torrie FRSE (died 7 August 1858) was a Scottish advocate, geologist, botanist and author. He was a competent artist and made his own botanical drawings.
Torrie was the son of Patrick Torrie (1763–1810) and Janet Jameson (1776–1853), the sister of Robert Jameson, who was a strong influence upon him.
He trained as a lawyer at the University of Edinburgh, and qualified as an advocate in 1830. However his primary interests lay in scientific investigations. In 1827 he was President of Edinburgh's Plinian Society, a group of like-minded thinkers and scientists. In 1832 he inherited £10,000, a large sum for the day, enabling him to pursue his scientific interests at leisure.[1]
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1834, his proposer was Sir John Robison.[2] At this time he was living in an imposing Georgian townhouse at 21 Royal Circus in Edinburgh's New Town.[3] He also served on the Committee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.[4]
He visited Mount Vesuvius during an eruption, and reported his observations back to several scientific bodies.[5]
He died in Roslin in Midlothian on 7 August 1858,[6] and is buried in Warriston Cemetery.
He married Catherine Paton (1820–1867) in 1846. They had 3 sons and a daughter; Janet Torrie, Robert Torrie, Lawrence Jameson Torrie (born 1852) and Thomas Torrie, the Scotland international rugby union player.[7]