The Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory was founded in Nicolson Street, Edinburgh in 1906, by William Speirs Bruce, who had travelled widely in the Antarctic and Arctic regions and had led the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE) 1902–04. Bruce had originally studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, but had transferred his studies to the natural sciences and, through his varied experiences, had established a reputation as a polar scientist. He had also collected a large number of botanical, biological, zoological and geological specimens, together with vast amounts of meteorological and magnetic data. The laboratory, established in Edinburgh at premises in Nicolson Street, provided a place to examine, store or display these materials, an office from which Bruce could work