John Napier of Merchiston 1550-1617 Dem Bones
Born in the castle of Merchiston which now forms part of Napier University. In those days well outside Edinburgh, but now a part of the city. His initial interests lay in the field of theology (he wrote 'A Plaine Discovery Of The Whole Revelation Of St.John' in 1593 which proved to the satisfaction of Scottish protestants that the Roman Curch was the 'scarlet woman' in the Book Of Revelation from the bible) but he switched his attentions to technology and mathematics. He formulated the theory of logarithms and invented a calculating apparatus known as 'Napier's Bones'. His intellectual legacy has been phenomenal but only a few appreciated his genius at the time. Fortunately those few included people such as the famous astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler. Kepler recognized the huge significance of logarithms, providing for the 17th century the sort of boost which digital computers have provided for the 20th, in the field of computational science. In an era when witchcraft was generally believed in, he was suspected of being a necromancer, simply because of the quiet studious life he led. In Scotland, unlike other European countries, and fortunately for him, the nobility were generally immune from persecution for witchcraft, however.