James Young Simpson
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Sir James Young Simpson, (June 7, 1811 born in Bathgate, West Lothian, died May 6, 1870), was a Scottish doctor and important figure in the history of medicine.
He received an education at the local school and entered the University of Edinburgh when he was 14 years old. He became a Licentiate in 1830 before graduating in 1832. He was professor of midwifery at the University of Edinburgh and physician to Queen Victoria.
He discovered the anaesthetic properties of chloroform and — against medical and religious opposition — successfully introduced it for general medical use.
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[edit] Career
Simpson completed his final medical examination at the age of 18 but, as he was too young, had to wait two years before he got his licence to practice medicine. It was during this period that he became a Freemason, being initiated in a Lodge in his home town of Bathgate. He developed an interest in obstetrics, and at the age of 28 became Chair of the Midwifery at the University of Edinburgh. He improved on the design of the obstetrical forceps and, like Semmelweis, he fought against the contagiousness of puerperal sepsis. His most noted contribution was the introduction of anesthesia to childbirth.
A free thinker by most accounts, his intellectual interests ranged from Archaeology to an almost taboo subject at the time; hermaphroditism. He was a very early advocate of the use of mid wifes in the hospital environment. To some extent that still has yet to happen; at least in North America.
[edit] Obstetrical Anaesthesia
On January 19, 1847 he was the first to apply a modern anaesthetic, ether, to alleviate the pain of labour. Many opposed this practice, as it was viewed as an act against nature or the will of God. Despite such hostilities, Simpson searched further to find a better anaesthetic and discovered the effects of chloroform. Vindication of his efforts came when Queen Victoria used chloroform during the delivery of Prince Leopold in 1853. The anaesthetist was John Snow.
[edit] Victo Dolore
Full recognition was quick to follow. He was the first man to be knighted for services to medicine. He died at the age of fifty. "Victo Dolore" (pain conquered) is the inscription of his coat of arms.
A spot for his burial in Westminster Abbey was offered to his family, but they declined and instead buried him closer to home in Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh. Instead a memorial bust can be found in a niche at Westminster.
On the day of his funeral a Scottish holiday was declared, including the banks and stock markets with over 100,000 citizens lining the funeral cortege on its way to the ccemetery while over 1,700 collegues and business leaders took part in the procession itself.
[edit] Reference
- Speert H: Obstetric and Gynecologic Milestones The MacMillan Company, New York, 1958.
- Simpson, Myrtle: "Simpson the Obstetrician" Victor Gollancz, London?, 1972.
- Gordon, B. Laing: "Sir James Young Simpson & Chloroform 1811-1870" T. Fischer Unwin, London, 1897.
