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William Small (1734–1775) was aScottish physician and a professor of natural philosophy at theCollege of William and Mary inWilliamsburg, Virginia. There he became an influential mentor ofThomas Jefferson, who went on to be a leading proponent of theAmerican Revolution, principal author of theDeclaration of Independence, and the third President of the United States. From 1765, Small was an influential medical doctor in Birmingham, England, where he was a member of theLunar Society.
Small was born inCarmyllie inAngus, Scotland, the son of aPresbyterian minister James Small and his wife Lillias Scott, and younger brother toDr Robert Small. He attendedDundee Grammar School, and thenMarischal College at theUniversity of Aberdeen, where he received anMA in 1755.
In 1758, he was appointed Professor of Natural Philosophy at theCollege of William and Mary inWilliamsburg, Virginia, then one ofBritain's American colonies.
Small wasThomas Jefferson's professor at theCollege of William & Mary, and had an influence on the young Jefferson. Small introduced Jefferson to members ofVirginia society who proved influential in Jefferson's life, includingGeorge Wythe, a leading jurist in thecolonies andFrancis Fauquier, theGovernor of Virginia.
Recalling his years as a student, Jefferson described Small as:
a man profound in most of the useful branches of science, with a happy talent of communication, correct and gentlemanly manners, and a large and liberal mind... from his conversation I got my first views of the expansion of science and of the system of things in which we are placed.
In 1764, Small returned to Britain with a letter of introduction toMatthew Boulton fromBenjamin Franklin. Through this connection with Franklin, Small helped form theLunar Society, a club of scientists and industrialists.
In 1765, he received hisMD degree and established a medical practice inBirmingham, where he shared a house with fellow physicianJohn Ash, the chief campaigner for the Birmingham infirmary. Small was Boulton's physician and became a close friend ofErasmus Darwin,Thomas Day,James Keir,James Watt,Anna Seward, and others connected with the Lunar Society. Small was among the most popular members of the society and an active contributor to the society's debates.
Small helped to bring theTheatre Royal to Birmingham in 1774 and, together with Ash, was involved in planning and buildingBirmingham General Hospital, which was completed in 1779.
Small died inBirmingham on 25 February 1775 frommalaria contracted during his stay inVirginia and was interred inSt. Philip's churchyard in Birmingham.
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The William Small Physical Laboratory, which houses the Physics Department at theCollege of William & Mary inWilliamsburg, Virginia, is named in Small's honour.
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