Patrick Syme was born in Edinburgh in 1774. He was a painter who was prominent in the foundation of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1826, occupying the chair at the first meeting in May 1826 and becoming a member of the Council appointed to manage its affairs. 

 

As a young man, he quickly took charge of his brother’s established teaching business. Alongside this he had a keen interest in botany and entomology and was appointed the dedicated painter of fruits and flowers by the Caledonian Horticultural Society.  

 

His seminal adaptation of Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours was famously used by Charles Darwin aboard HMS Beagle.