Swale Vincent

Thomas Swale Vincent (24 May 1868 – 31 December 1933) was a British physiologist.

Early years

Mason Science College, now the University of Birmingham

Thomas Swale Vincent was the son of J. Vincent and Margaret Swale.^[1][2] He was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School in Birmingham,^[1][2] and subsequently studied at Mason Science College (which later became the University of Birmingham), graduating MB in 1894.^[3][1][2] At age 24, Swale qualified in medicine, and travelled to the University of Heidelberg to study under Albrecht Kossel.^[1] He then returned to Mason Science College as a demonstrator of physiology.^[1]

Career

In 1896, Vincent's first paper, entitled "The Suprarenal Capsules in the Lower Vertebrates," was published in The Proceedings of the Birmingham Natural History and Philosophical Society.^[1] This research earned him a BMA Research Scholarship,^[1] presenting the opportunity to work with E.A. Schäfer, the original discoverer of the suprarenal capsules, at University College in London.^[1] In 1897, Vincent succeeded Benjamin Moore as Sharpey Scholar,^[1] becoming assistant professor to Schäfer, and, in 1899, to Ernest Starling.^[1]

In 1900, Vincent was appointed a lecturer at Cardiff, where his students included future cardiologist Thomas Lewis, with whom he published two papers on the biochemistry of muscle.^[1] Lewis later wrote, "I have always been grateful to Vincent for giving me my first introduction to scientific work."^[1] Two years later, he was awarded the Francis Mason Research Scholarship,^[1] and rejoined Schäfer, now at the University of Edinburgh, to study the physiology of the thymus and other ductless glands.^[1]

In 1904, Vincent was appointed the first Professor of Physiology at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada.^[1][4] Here, he oversaw the research of biochemist Alexander Thomas Cameron, and was influential in fostering Cameron's interest in endocrinology.^[5] Vincent remained at Manitoba until 1920, when he returned to London to become Professor of Physiology at Middlesex Hospital.^[1] He retired from this post in 1930.^[1]

Personal life

In 1914, Vincent married Beatrice, daughter of Mr. W. Overton, and had two daughters; all three survived him.^[1] Vincent's shyness sometimes gave an impression of brusqueness, but friends knew him as a "staunch friend and a charming companion."^[1] Vincent, who practised as a pianist, also had a deep love of music.^[1]

Attitudes

Vincent's research on endocrinology earned him a strong international reputation in his field.^[1] He was known for his "highly critical and sceptical mind,"^[1] and was described by colleague William Cramer as "a man of firm principles and high ideals on which he would not compromise." ^[1]

References