Famous Alumni
Pioneers in Medicine
| Name | Class year | Notability | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Lind | MD 1748 | Scottish military surgeon, pioneer of naval hygiene, conducted the first ever clinical trial, developed cure for scurvy and typhus, first proposed fresh water could be obtained from distilling sea water | |
| Alexander Monro | MD 1755 | Scottish physician and anatomist, described the lymphatic system, elucidated the musculo-skeletal system, described the foramen of Monro | |
| William Withering | MD 1766 | botanist and physician, discovered Digoxin | |
| Benjamin Bell | 1767 | Scottish surgeon, Father of Edinburgh's school of surgery, first to suggest syphilis and gonnorhea were not the same disease | |
| John Cheyne | MD 1795 | Scottish physician, discovered Cheyne-Stokes respiration, Physician General to the British Armed Forces in Ireland | |
| Charles Bell | MD 1798 | Scottish anatomist and neurologist, discovered Bell's palsy | |
| James Blundell | MD 1813 | English obstetrician, who performed the first successful human to human blood transfusion | |
| Richard Bright | MD 1813 | English physician, discovered Bright's disease, known as the "father of nephrology" | |
| Thomas Addison | MD 1815 | English physician, discovered Addison's disease, pernicious anemia and Addison-Schilder syndrome | |
| Robert Liston | 1815 | Scottish surgeon, inventor of artery forceps and the Liston knife, known as "the fastest surgeon alive" | |
| James Begbie | MD 1821 | Scottish physician, first described Graves' Disease also known as Begbie's disease, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh | |
| Thomas Hodgkin | MD 1823 | English pathologist, described Hodgkin's lymphoma | |
| Sir William Brooke O'Shaughnessy | MD 1829 | Irish physician, introduced Cannabis, also known as medical marijuana, into Western medicine, inventor of IV therapy, pioneered work on telegraphy and installed 3500 miles of telegraph lines in India | |
| Sir James Young Simpson | MD 1832 | discovered chloroform anaesthesia in 1847, revolutionising obstetric and surgical practice. | |
| James Spence | 1832, Prof. Systemic Surgery 1864-1882 | Scottish surgeon, President of the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh, the tail of Spence is named after him | |
| John Murray Carnochan | 1834 | American neurosurgeon, performed the world's first successful surgery for trigeminal neuralgia | |
| John Hughes Bennett | MD 1837 | English physician, first to describe aspergillosis and first identified leukaemia as a blood disorder | |
| Alexander Wood | MD 1839 | Scottish physician, invented the first hypodermic syringe | |
| John Struthers | MD 1845 | Scottish anatomist, discovered and described the vestigial organ Ligament of Struthers which was used by Charles Darwin to argue the case for evolution | |
| Sir Thomas Lauder Brunton, 1st Baronet FRS | BSc 1867, MD 1768, DSc 1870 | discovered organic nitrates had the ability to alleviate angina pectoris | |
| Robert Marcus Gunn | MB 1873, CM 1873 | Scottish ophthalmologist, discovered Gunn's Sign and the Marcus Gunn pupil | |
| Sir George Beatson | MD 1878 | surgical oncologist who pioneered oophorectomy, the removal of the ovaries in the treatment of breast cancer | |
| David Bruce | MB 1881, CM 1881 | Scottish pathologist, identified the cause of sleeping sickness and discovered Malta fever and brucellosis | |
| Harold Stiles | MB 1885, CM 1885, FRCS(Edin) 1889 | British surgeon, known for research in tuberculosis and breast cancer, performed first pyloromyotomy | |
| Percy Theodore Herring | MB 1896, CM 1896, MD 1899 | English physician, discovered herring bodies | |
| Samuel Wilson | MB 1902, BSc 1903, MD 1912 | British neurologist, described Wilson's disease | |
| Thomas Addis | MB 1905, MD 1908 | Scottish-American physician, described the pathogenesis of haemophilia, demonstrated that normal blood plasma could correct the defect in haemophilia | |
| Cuthbert Dukes | MD 1914 | English pathologist, devised the Dukes classification system for colorectal cancer | |
| Ian Frazer | BSc 1974, MB 1977, ChB 1977 | Scottish-Australian physician, discovered the link between HPV and cervical cancer, co-invented the HPV vaccine for cervical cancer, CEO and Director of Research at the Translational Institute of Research, University of Queensland | |
| Richard Eastell | MB 1977, ChB 1977, MD 1984 | British physician, pioneered treatments in osteoporosis | |
| Gordon Wishart | MB 1983, ChB 1983, MD 1992 | British breast surgeon, identified P-glycoprotein in breast cancer, introduced early patient discharge following breast surgery, pioneered minimally invasive parathyroid surgery, pioneered pre-operative axillary lymph node breast cancer staging |
Founders of Medical Schools
| Name | Class year | Notability | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Morgan | MD 1763 | Founder of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, founder of the American Philosophical Society, served as Chief Physician and Director General of the Continental Army | |
| Samuel Bard | MD 1765 | Founder and President of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, described diphtheria | |
| Benjamin Waterhouse | 1778 | Co-founder of Harvard Medical School | |
| Nathan Smith | 1797 | New England physician and founder of the Yale School of Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School, University of Vermont College of Medicine and the medical school at Bowdoin College | |
| Andrew Fernando Holmes | MD 1819 | Co-founder and dean of the McGill University Faculty of Medicine | |
| Sophia Jex-Blake | 1873 | Founder of two medical schools for women in London and Edinburgh | |
| Dugald Christie | MB 1882, CM 1882 | Founder of Mukden Medical College in China, now known as the China Medical University |
Leaders in Medicine
| Name | Class year | Notability | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Whytt | 1734 | President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, First physician to the King in Scotland, wrote book on diseases of the nervous system | |
| William Cullen | 1736, Prof. Physiology 1756-89 | President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow (1746-7), President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (1773-75), first physician to the King in Scotland | |
| Francis Home | MD 1750, Prof. Materia Medica 1768-1798 | President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, co-founder of the Royal Medical Society, made the first attempt to vaccinate against measles | |
| William Shippen Jr. | MD 1761 | President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, President of the British Dental Association, founder of the Edinburgh School of Dentistry, co-founder of the Royal Hospital for Sick Children | |
| Andrew Duncan Sr. | 1768, Prof. Medicine 1773-1824 | President of the Royal Medical Society and the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, First physician to the King in Scotland, founder of the Harveian Society, founder of the first lunatic asylum in Edinburgh | |
| John Coakley Lettsom | 1768 | Philanthropist, Founder of the Medical Society of London | |
| Benjamin Rush | MD 1768 | Founding Father of the United States, Surgeon General of the Continental Army, founder of Dickinson College | |
| Sir Gilbert Blane | 1773 | Physician to the King (George IV and William IV) and the Prince of Wales, instituted health reform in the Royal Navy | |
| Sir James McGrigor, 1st Baronet | 1788 | Founder of the Royal Army Medical Corps | |
| James Gregory | MD 1774 | President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and author | |
| Andrew Duncan Jr. | MA 1793, MD 1794, Prof. Med Jurisprudence 1807-1832 | Creator of the journal Edinburgh New Dispensatory, Chief Editor of the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal | |
| David Maclagan | MD 1805 | Physician to the Forces, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh | |
| William Alison | MD 1811, Prof. Medicine and Physic 1822-1856 | Scottish physician, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, advocate of preventative social medicine | |
| Thomas Graham Balfour | MD 1834 | Scottish physician, President of the Royal Statistical Society, Staff Surgeon at the Royal Military Asylum | |
| William Tennant Gairdner | MD 1845 | President of the British Medical Association | |
| John Smith | MD 1847 | Founder of the Edinburgh school of dentistry, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, President of the British Dental Association, co-founder of the Royal Hospital for Sick Children | |
| Joseph Bell | MD 1859 | Scottish surgeon, lecturer at the University of Edinburgh Medical School and personal surgeon to Queen Victoria, served as the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes | |
| Frederick Montizambert | MD 1865 | Canadian physician, first Director-General of Public Health in Canada, President of the Canadian Medical Association, President of the American Public Health Association, inductee to the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame | |
| Robert Muir | MA 1884, MB 1888, CM 1888, MD 1890 | Scottish pathologist, author of Muir's Textbook of Pathology | |
| Andrew Balfour | MB 1894, CM 1894, MD 1898, BSc 1900 | Scottish physician, Medical Officer of Health in Khartoum, Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine | |
| George Newman | MD 1895 | English physician, Chief Medical Officer of England | |
| J.C. Boileau Grant | MB 1908, ChB 1908 | Anatomist, author of Grant's Atlas of Anatomy | |
| Alexander Biggam | MB 1911, ChB 1911, MD 1942 | Scottish physician, Major General in the British Army, Honorary physician to King George VI | |
| Charles Illingworth | MB 1922, ChB 1922, MD 1929, ChM 1939 | President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, Surgeon to the Queen in Scotland | |
| John George Macleod | MB 1938, ChB 1938 | Scottish physician, author of Macleod's Clinical Examination | |
| Ekkehard von Kuenssberg | MB 1939, ChB 1939 | Founder and President of the Royal College of General Practitioners | |
| Sydney Selwyn | BSc, MB, ChB, MD | Authority on the history of medicine, designed the Florence Nightingale 10 pound note, pioneer in bone marrow transplantation | |
| Sheila Sherlock | MB 1941, ChB 1941, MD 1945 | First woman in the UK to be appointed professor of medicine, published over 600 papers, founded the liver unit at London's Royal Free Hospital | |
| Philip Raffaelli | MB 1979, ChB 1979 | Surgeon General of the British Armed Forces, Vice Admiral in the Royal Navy, Governor of the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust |
Pioneers in Science and Humanities
| Name | Class year | Notability | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Hutton | 1747 | Scottish physician, geologist, known for theories on Deep time and Gaia Hypothesis | |
| Joseph Black | MD 1754 | Scottish physician and chemist, discoverer of carbon dioxide, latent heat and specific heat | |
| Erasmus Darwin | 1755 | physician, poet, author and evolutionary biologist. | |
| Daniel Rutherford | MD 1772, Prof. Medicine and Botany 1786-1819 | Scottish physician, chemist and botanist, first to isolate nitrogen in 1772 | |
| Thomas Charles Hope | MD 1787, Prof. Medicine and Chemistry (1799-1843) | Scottish physician, chemist, discovered the element strontium, demonstrated that water reached its maximum density at 4C in an experiment called Hope's experiment, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh | |
| Thomas Brown | MD 1803 | Scottish metaphysician | |
| William Prout | MD 1811 | English physician and chemist, known for Prout's hypothesis, discovered hydrochloric acid in the stomach and improved the barometer | |
| James Braid | 1814 | Scottish surgeon, pioneer of hypnotism and hypnotherapy | |
| Robert Edmond Grant | MD 1814 | Scottish physician, biologist, mentor of Charles Darwin | |
| Charles Darwin | 1827 | English naturalist, published the theory of evolution, author of On the Origin of Species and The Descent of Man | |
| David Boswell Reid | MD 1830 | Scottish physician, inventor, expert on ventilation, President of the Royal Medical Society | |
| Charles Wyville Thomson | MD 1845 | Chief scientist of the Challenger expedition, discovered animal life at depths of 1200m | |
| John Kirk | MD 1854 | Scottish physician, botanist, companion of David Livingstone, identified the Zanzibar Red Colobus, British Consul in Zanzibar | |
| John Anderson | MD 1862 | Scottish zoologist, first curator of the Indian Museum in Calcutta | |
| Neil Gordon Munro | MB 1888, CM 1888, MD 1909 | Scottish physician, anthropologist, one of the first people to study the Ainu people of Hokkaido |
Non-Medical Accomplishments
| Name | Class year | Notability | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Buchan | MD 1761 | author of books on domestic medicine | |
| William Crawford | MD 1781 | United States Congressman from Pennsylvania's 5th and 6th Congressional districts | |
| Samuel Seabury | 1753 | first American Episcopal bishop, first bishop of Connecticut | |
| Oliver Goldsmith | 1754 | Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, author of the novel The Vicar of Wakefield and the children's tale of The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes | |
| Henry Latimer | MD 1775 | United States Senator from Delaware | |
| George Logan | MD 1779 | United States Senator from Pennsylvania | |
| Samuel L. Mitchill | MD 1786 | United States Senator from New York | |
| James Jones | MD 1796 | United States Representative from Virginia | |
| William Jardine | MD 1802 | Co-founder of Hong Kong conglomerate Jardine, Matheson and Company, Whig MP for Ashburton | |
| James C. Crow | MD 1822 | Scottish inventor of the sour mash proceess for creating Bourbon whiskey, creator of the Old Crow brand of Bourbon whiskey | |
| John Rae | MD 1833 | Scottish explorer, discovered the fate of the Franklin Expedition, discovered Rae Straight, showed that King William Land was an island | |
| David Monro | MD 1835 | Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, MP representing Waimea | |
| William Johnston Almon | 1836 | Nova Scotian physician, Canadian Senator from Nova Scotia, Canadian MP for Halifax | |
| John Logan Campbell | MD 1839 | New Zealand physician, Mayor of Auckland, co-founder of Auckland Savings Bank, Superintendent of Auckland, known as the "Father of Auckland" | |
| Sir Charles Tupper | MD 1843 | 6th Prime Minister of Canada and father of confederation | |
| Henry Halcro Johnston | MB 1880, CM 1880, MD 1893, BSc 1893, DSc 1894 | Scottish botanist, represented Scotland internationally in rugby union, Colonel in the British Army | |
| Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle | MB 1881, CM 1881, MD 1885 | novelist, creator of the character Sherlock Holmes | |
| John Batty Tuke | MB 1881, CM 1881, MD 1890 | Scottish psychiatrist, Conservative MP for the University of Edinburgh and St Andrews | |
| Robert Stirton Thornton | MB 1884, CM 1884 | Minister of Education for Manitoba, President of the Medical Council of Canada | |
| George Ernest Morrison | MD 1895 | Australian adventurer, The Times correspondent in Peking during Boxer Rebellion | |
| Bernard Friedman | MB 1921, ChB 1921 | South African surgeon, co-founder of the anti-apartheid Progressive Party | |
| Robert McIntyre | MB 1938, ChB 1938 | Scottish politician, leader of the Scottish National Party from 1947-56, first SNP MP for Motherwell | |
| Kerry Lang | MB 1998, ChB 1998 | British triathelete, British Triathlon Vice Champion of the Year 2009 |
- William Budd - English physician and epidemiologist, discovered that infections could be spread through feces
- John Fothergill - English physician, plant collector, philanthropist
- Robert Knox - Anatomy lecturer in Edinburgh.
- James Syme - pioneering Scottish surgeon.
Read more about this topic: University Of Edinburgh Medical School
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—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)