Regius Professor of Forensic Medicine (Edinburgh)

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The Regius Professor of Forensic Medicine is a 1807 by Georg III. Endowed Regius Professorship in Forensic Medicine at the University of Edinburgh . Originally the chair was called Regius Professor of Medical Jurisprudence and Medical Police . It is the oldest forensic science chair in the UK . A few years later, in 1839, another professorship for this discipline, the Regius Professorship of Forensic Medicine, was established at the University of Glasgow .

history

The first to give lectures on forensic medicine in Britain was Andrew Duncan the Elder (1744-1828). Duncan lectured on forensics shortly after he took over the medical institute in 1789, ostensibly because he was angry at the conflicting expert testimony in the Donellan murder in Warwick. Duncan had spent several years in continental Europe and acquired knowledge in forensic medicine, which had been taught there for several years. On his travels Duncan met Johann Peter Frank (1741–1821), who had already thought about the responsibility of the state for the health of its citizens during his student days. Frank collected his thoughts in a monumental pamphlet, System of the Complete Medical Police . Duncan was so impressed with the idea that he started giving weekly lectures on the subject from 1795.

Allegedly at the urging of his son, Andrew Duncan the Younger , Duncan sr. a dissertation for the Town Council, A Short View of the Extent and Importance of Medical Jurisprudence, Considered as a Branch of Education , in which he proposed the establishment of a chair in medical jurisprudence and medical police for forensic medicine and public health , as it did for several years had previously been introduced in France .

Although the first proposal was rejected by the Town Council, but Duncan approached the attorney Henry Erskine, who saw the advantage and the professorship in his function as Lord Advocate of Scotland King George III. presented. The Foundation records state:

“George the third ... whereas we considering that the improvement of those branches of Science taught in every University of reputation on the Continent of Europe under the titles of Medical Jurisprudence and Medical Police is an object of great importance and that the instituting a Professorship for that purpose in our University of Edinburgh, under certain conditions and limitations will be of great utility, therefore we being desirous of giving all suitable encouragement to the same have agreed to erect and endow a Professorship in our foresaid University of Edinburgh, under the name of "The Professorship of Medical Jurisprudence and Medical Police" and being well informed of the ability and good Endowments of Andrew Duncan Junior Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh for the discharge of the duties of the aforesaid office; ... appointed during the days of his life ... "

- Council's Minutes of April 22, 1807

Although the professorship's political opponents took over the government again only a few months later, no attempts were made to revoke the appointment. Like his father, Duncan Jr. traveled. through Europe and also learned the German language during an extended stay in Braunschweig . He moved on to Göttingen , where he wanted to attend lectures and prepare for an annotated translation of Franke's "System of Complete Poizey". From Göttingen he moved via Vienna to Italy and back to Vienna, where he heard lectures by Franke, the most important forensic doctor of his time.

When the young Robert Christison Duncan succeeded in 1822, he developed a great activity that brought the chair to the public consciousness. Christisons established and systematized the investigation of the dead, researched poisons and wrote textbooks that were also read across borders. Christison's successor, Thomas Stewart Traill, took over the professorship when Christison moved to the professorship for Materia Medica, which was closer to Christison's inclination to chemistry and toxicology . Although Trail did not enjoy Christison's reputation, he published several textbooks during his tenure that met with considerable success.

Followed by Traill was Andrew Douglas Maclagan, a close friend of Christison and like him interested in chemistry and toxicology. Henry Duncan Littlejohn had already had his career with great success when he took over the professorship at the age of 71. Even then he was considered one of the best forensic scientists of his time and when he handed over the professorship to his son Henry Harvey Littlejohn in 1906, he was also considered one of the best in his profession.

After Littlejohn's death, Sydney Alfred Smith, a forensic scientist who had previously earned a worldwide reputation, took over the chair. After his departure, the professorship was not filled for 20 years until, in 1973, John Kenyon French Mason was finally appointed professor. Mason retired from the professorship in 1985. whereupon the chair was filled in 1987 by Anthony Busuttil, who withdrew from the professorship in 2006.

Holder of the chair

Surname name suffix from to annotation
Andrew Duncan FRCP Edin., 1807 1820 Because of the political quarrels about the professorship, it was added to the law faculty for the first 18 years of its existence. Duncan's lectures were warmly received by students and the medical community and raised awareness of the subject in the UK. Duncan isolated first in the study of cinchona bark , the cinchonine .
William Pulteney Alison MD 1820 1821 Alison had worked in the town pharmacy for a number of years, so she had a good idea of ​​the dire conditions the poor were suffering. He summarized his observations in a paper, Observations on the Management of the Poor in Scotland , which eventually led to the Poor Law Act of 1845. In doing so, he concentrated on the second part of the professorship's task, public health.
Robert Christison MA, MD 1822 1832 Christison had heard lectures from Pierre-Jean Robiquet in chemistry and Mathieu Orfila in toxicology in France . When he returned to Edinburgh, he found himself in competition for the recently vacated professorship. With some support he was awarded the chair. In order to get better information, Christinson learned German and was soon considered more logical, more precise and more incorruptible than any other medical teacher before. He became a frequent appraiser in court. His instructions on autopsy to resolve legal cases soon became established practice. He established the distinction between pre- and post-mortem injuries. A study carried out together with his colleague Coindet to detect and recognize poisoning brought his toxicological knowledge to bear. He followed up these investigations with research on arsenic , lead , opium , hemlock and others. For his research, Christison also risked his own health by conducting self-experiments with toxic substances. He wrote textbooks that reached four editions by 1845 and were also translated into German. In 1832 he withdrew from the professorship.
Thomas Stewart Traill MA, MD, FRSE, FRCP 1832 1862 Although Christison was thought to be the better scientist, Traills Outlines of a Course of Lectures on Medical Jurisprudence became a very successful textbook, the third edition of which appeared in 1857. Together with Christison and Syme, he published The Medico-Legal Examination of Dead Bodies . Traill held the professorship until his death.
Andrew Douglas Maclagan MD 1862 1897 Like Christison before, Maclagan had developed a significant interest in chemistry and toxicology. Maclagen completed a B.Sc. and D.Sc. Degree in Public Health. He developed a great interest in dermatology , about which he lectured almost exclusively in his last years. In 1886 Maclagen was ennobled by Queen Victoria .
Henry Duncan Littlejohn LL.D., MD, 1897 1906 Littlejohn was still responsible for the various fields of forensics and public health when he took over the professorship in 1897. His activities as the first Scottish Medical Officer of Pubic Health halved the deaths from disease and preventable diseases. His influence led to the establishment of the Fever Hospital and his analyzes of the urban deficiencies led to the Edinburgh City Improvement Act of 1867. In 1898 the university introduced a separate chair in public health and relieved the Regius professorship. Littlejohn's previous duties in this regard were taken over by his colleague Charles Hunter Stewart . A public health institute was set up three years later and the departments were finally separated.

Littlejohn gave exceptionally successful lectures with up to 250 students. He took up the regius professorship at the age of 71.

Henry Harvey Littlejohn Esq., MA, MB, B.Sc. 1906 1927 Henry Harvey was the son of Henry Duncan Littlejohn, whom he succeeded in the professorship in 1906 and which he held until his death. He was considered an unsurpassed lecturer and, like his father, one of the best forensic experts of his time.
Sydney Alfred Smith CBE, MD, FRCPE 1928 1953 The New Zealand- born Smith had an assistant position at the institute on the advice of Harvey Littlejohn and won a gold medal for his doctoral thesis in 1914. After graduating from university, he worked in New Zealand, Egypt and other places and produced original articles on forensics that earned him an excellent international reputation. In the Honors List of December 1948, Smith's title was given as Regius Professor of Forensic Medicine at the University of Edinburgh.
not clear 1953 1973 Occupation not clarified
John Kenyon French Mason CBE, MB, B.Chir. LL.D., FRCPath, FRCP (Edin), FRSE 1973 1985
vacant 1985 1987
Anthony Busuttil Esq., MD, FRC Path., DMJ (Path), FRCP (Eng), FRCP (Glass), FRCS (Edin) 1988 2006 Busuttil was the chief pathologist investigating the dead in the Lockerbie attack .
not clear since 2006 Occupation not clarified

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av Matthew H. Kaufman (2007) Origin and history of the Regius Chair of Medical Jurisprudence and Medical Police established in the University of Edinburgh in 1807 . (PDF) In: Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine , 14, 2007, pp. 121–130.
  2. a b c d e f g h i j k l m George Thomas Bettany:  Christison, Robert . In: Leslie Stephen (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 10:  Chamber - Clarkson. , MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1887 (English).
  3. a b c d e f g h i j k Forensic Medicine. Our History on the University of Edinburgh website; accessed on November 1, 2016.
  4. George Thomas Bettany:  Duncan, Andrew (1773-1832) . In: Leslie Stephen (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 16:  Drant - Edridge. , MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1888 (English).
  5. ^ Johann Samuelersch, Johann Gottfried Gruber: General Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts in alphabetical order . 79th part. FA Brockhaus, Leipzig 1865, p. 262.
  6. ^ Joseph Frank Payne:  Alison, William Pulteney . In: Leslie Stephen (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 1:  Abbadie - Anne. , MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1885 (English).
  7. ^ A b Bernard Barham Woodward:  Traill, Thomas Stewart . In: Sidney Lee (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 57:  Tom - Tytler. , MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1899 (English).
  8. ^ A b Communication on the appointment of Henry Duncan Littlejohn as Professor of Forensic Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. In: London Gazette , March 23, 1897.
  9. ^ Brenda M. White (2004) Maclagan, Sir Andrew Douglas (1812-1900), physician and expert in forensic medicine and public health in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004; online edn., October 2009; doi: 10.1093 / ref: odnb / 59857 .
  10. a b Communication on the appointment of Henry Harvey Littlejohn as Professor of Forensic Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. In: London Gazette , February 9, 1906.
  11. ^ A b Announcement about the impending ennoblement of Sydney Alfred Smith . In: London Gazette , December 31, 1948.
  12. ^ Sydney Smith - The Scientific Detective on NZedge.com; accessed on November 1, 2016.
  13. a b Communication on the appointment of Anthony Busuttil as Regius Professor of Forensic Medicine. In: London Gazette , November 17, 1987.
  14. Announcement on the appointment of John Kenyon French Mason as Regius Professor of Forensic Medicine. In: London Gazette , March 9, 1973.
  15. a b Stephen Armstrong (2006) Modern death . In: The Guardian , January 14, 2006,