John Robert Urquhart Dewar FECVS (1850–1919) was a 19th/20th-century Scottish veterinarian who served as Principal of the Dick Vet school in Edinburgh from 1895 to 1911.
Life
He was born on 26 March 1850 in Aberdeenshire.
In 1875, he won a silver medal in General Proficiency from the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland.Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland 1859 Through the 1870s he was living at Midmar in Aberdeenshire.British Veterinary Journal 1879
He became Veterinary Advisor to the City of Edinburgh.The Development of Veterinary Education in Eastern Scotland: Boddie and Philips
In 1895, he was appointed Principal of the Dick Vet School in Edinburgh. He was then living at 15 Union Street in the eastern New Town.Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1896 He oversaw seven professors and 100 students.Report of the Commissioners of Education in Scotland 1907
By the time of his retiral in 1911 he was living at 18 Drummond Place, a very fine Georgian townhouse.Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1911
He died at Fettercairn on 25 October 1919.Veterinary Journal (UK) vol 75 - 1919 He is buried in Kinnernie Churchyard.
Artistic recognition
Dewar was one of twenty "shadow portraits" created in the Summerhall building of the college, depicting former Principals. The portraits are now in the Easter Bush buildings.
Family
In 1880, he was married to Mary Wilson Watt (1856-1935). They had three daughters: Mary (1881-1955), Jessy Urquhart (1884-1941) and Helen Agnes (1886-1964)Their only son William Gordon Dewar was drowned in Leith Docks aged 11.
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