Keith Simpson (professor)

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Professor Cedric Keith Simpson, CBE, FRCP, (July 20, 1907 – July 21, 1985) was an eminent British pathologist. He was Professor of Forensic Medicine to the University of London at Guy's Hospital, and was Lecturer in Forensic Medicine at the University of Oxford.

[edit] Career

Cedric Keith Simpson was born in Brighton and Hove in 1907. His father was a GP with a practice in Brighton and Hove and in August 1924, aged 17 Simpson enrolled at Guys Medical School. By the age of 25 he was a teacher in the Pathology department. In 1932 he married Mary Buchanan with whom he had three children, his only son later also becoming a doctor. They were together until Mary's death from multiple sclerosis. Dr Simpson married his secretary, Jean Scott-Dunn in March 1956.

In 1934 Dr Simpson was made Supervisor of Medico-legal Post-Mortems and had his first case with Scotland Yard. In 1937 he was appointed Medico-legal advisor to Surrey Constabulary

[edit] Famous cases

  • 1942 Rachel Dobkin, murdered by her husband Harry Dobkin
  • 1942 Joan Pearl Wolfe – Victim of August Sangret the Wigwam murder
  • 1943 The Bethnal Green tube station disaster.
  • 1946 Margery Gardner – Neville Heath
  • 1946 Consultant for the Surrey Police on the Chalk-pit murder
  • 1947 Student textbook Forensic Medicine, which Dr Simpson wrote during the war, was published.
  • 1948 The death of Ananda Mahidol, King Ananda of Siam brought Keith Simpson his first case outside of England when a Major-General of the Police of Siam asked Dr Simpson's help interpreting what had happeed.
  • 1948 In the Gorringe case as it became known, Simpson used forensic odontology (the identification of an individual from their teeth and bite marks), to seal a murder conviction against Mr Gorringe for the murder of his wife. Simpson proved that the bite marks on Mrs Gorringe's body were made by her husband. This was one of the first recorded instances, of forensic odontology evidence being used in an English court.
  • 1949 After searching through slurry, Dr Simpson found gallstones and bones that identified Mrs Durand Deacon, as a victim of the "Acid Bath Murderer", John George Haigh.
  • 1950 Along with Francis Camps, Donald Teare and Professor Sydney Smith, Keith Simpson formed the Association of Forensic Medicine
  • 1953 Exhumation of Beryl Evans after John Christie confessed to her murder. Dr Simpson acted for the accused, observing the exhumation and autopsy which was performed by Francis Camps
  • 1956 Acted for the defence in the trial of Dr John Bodkin Adams when he was accused of murdering his patients.
  • 1961 Michael Gregston and Valerie Storie– Victims of James Hanratty, the A6 murderer.
  • 1963 Elected to the Royal College of Pathologists
  • 1966 George Cornell – Kray twins
  • 1967 Invited by the Canadian government to review the case of Steven Truscott after the release of Isabel LeBourdais’ book The Trial of Steven Truscott
  • 1974 Sandra Rivett – Lord Lucan
  • 1975 Moorgate tube crash

[edit] References