He was the son of the Glasgow merchant George Buchanan, and his first wife Jane Gorvie.
[1] In 1808 Buchanan was working for Henry Houldsworth at Cranstonhill, building a large waterworks.
The following year he set up in business at Port Dundas, and in 1810 he became a burgess of Glasgow.
In 1811 he was working on an early railway proposal in Scotland, to run from Dumfries to Sanquhar.
[4] He was the author of:[3] He also contributed papers to the Philosophical Magazine and Edinburgh Encyclopædia.