The beginnings of marine biology in Scotland, to a greater extent than in England, are intimately connected with interests in antiquarian remains. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which saw the birth of modern science, there is greater interest in the earlier activities of man than there is in nature. However, the first significant figure in Scotland, that of Sir Robert Sibbald, somewhat transcends this definition. Born in Edinburgh, he was trained in medicine at Leyden and in Paris and began practice in his native city in 1662, just after the restoration of Charles II, who was later to nominate him as King's Physician, Geographer-Royal and Natural Historian, revealing Sibbald as a veritable Admirable Crichton of his time. He was concerned with the foundation in this city of the Royal Botanic Garden, which has recently celebrated its tricentenary, and also with the establishment of the College of Physicians of Edinburgh, an activity which led to his knighthood.