John Phin

John Phin, born September 9, 1832 (although some resources list his birth year as 1830), in Scotland, died December 29, 1913, in Paterson, New Jersey, was a prolific author and publisher, a teacher of applied science and a Shakespeare scholar. He was born at 4 Bank Street in Edinburgh's Old Town the son of Charles Phin WS a lawyer and Session Clerk in the Edinburgh Law Courts. He appears to have remained in Edinburgh so presumably studied Law at Edinburgh University. In 1856 he won the Edinburgh Arrow award, therefore must have been a member of the Royal Company of Archers. In 1861 he was a successful lawyer in the Scottish Supreme Court, living at 13 Heriot Row in the New Town in Edinburgh. His best-known book today is The evolution of the atmosphere as a proof of design and purpose in the creation, and of the existence of a personal God. The book was openly theistic; Phin's Intelligent Designer was the Creator God of Genesis: "...it must be equally obvious that if we find strong and unmistakable evidence of intelligent and controlling design in the earliest stages of the development of this planet, that evidence applies with equal force to the existence of a designer, or in other words, to the existence of a personal God." Professor Phin (he taught at People's College in New York and the University of Pennsylvania) organized and ran the "Industrial Publishing Company" in New York City for 25 years; he was a member of the New York Press Club. Some of his many publications are listed in the Bibliography (below). He was also the editor of the “American Journal of Microscopy.”