José Macpherson

José Macpherson y Hemas (1839–1902) was a Spanish amateur geologist, noted as pioneer in the introduction of modern techniques for the studies of rocks in Spain.

Born in 1839 in Cádiz in a family of traders, son to a Scottish father. He was the younger brother of Guillermo Macpherson, a diplomat, archaeologist and translator. Macpherson met Francisco Giner de los Ríos (the founder of the Institución Libre de Enseñanza, ILE) for the first time in 1875, collaborating with and eventually becoming a lecturer of the ILE (1882). He was also a member of the Sociedad Española de Historia Natural and a founding member of the Sociedad Geográfica de Madrid.

Macpherson died on 11 October 1902 in La Granja.