Joseph Coats was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, on 04 February 1864 , son of William Coats, a merchant. He married Georgiana Taylor in 1879. He was educated at the Glasgow University University of Glasgow, as well as the Universities of Leipzig and Wurzburg. He received his MB from the University of Glasgow in 1867 and his MD in 1870 .
He was Pathologist in Glasgow Royal Infirmary and the Glasgow Western Infirmary and Examiner in Pathology in the University of Glasgow 1879-1892 . He was Lecturer there from 1890-1894 and was then appointed Professor, a post he held until his death on 24 January 1899 . His publications include A Manual of Pathology (1883, 1889, 1895), Lectures on Tuberculosis of Lungs (1888), Catalogue of the Pathological Museum of the Western Infirmary, Glasgow , (1885), Immunity to Infective Diseases: A Pathological Study in View of Recent Researches (1895).
From the guide to the Papers of Joseph Coats, 1864-1899, Professor of Pathology, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1894-1899, 1864-c 1930, (Glasgow University Archive Services)
