Medicine, meteorology and vital statistics: the influence of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh upon Scottish civil registration, c. 1840-1855.

The Scottish Registration Act of 1854 introduced compulsory civil registration of births, deaths and marriages under the GROS. The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh had long campaigned for such legislation, but was dissatisfied with certain sections of the Act. The College possessed strong views on how causes of death ought to be recorded, on the need for a medical Superintendent of Statistics to tabulate and analyse the causes of death for the GROS, on whether or not doctors should be fined for failing to provide certificates of cause of death, and on the importance of including meteorological data in the GROS's reports. Its Fellows accordingly strove to have the new registration measures tailored to their specifications. Drawing upon the College minutes, the GROS archives, and other contemporary sources, this article explains how the College succeeded in influencing some, but not all of these aspects of vital registration in Scotland.