Donald Cumming Wilson

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

FRIC (1898–1950) was a 20th-century Scottish manufacturing chemist. During the

Second world war World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he controlled one of the main producers of military painkillers.

Life

He was born in

Tranent Tranent is a town in East Lothian (formerly Haddingtonshire), in the south-east of Scotland. The town lies 6 miles from the boundary of Edinburgh, and 9.1 miles from the city centre. It lies beside the A1 road, the A1 runs through the parish ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

on 3 January 1898. He was educated in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

at Broughton High School. He then studied science at Edinburgh University, graduating BSc in 1919. He obtained a post with T & H Smith Ltd at Blandfield Works on Wheatfield Road in west Edinburgh. He worked there all his life, becoming Executive Director in 1941 and Managing director in 1946. T & H Smith were a firm of manufacturing chemists and druggists, originating in

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

. They specialised in painkillers:

Morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...

, Apomorphine and

Diamorphine Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brown ...

. They also made surgical dressings. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

they were one of the main British suppliers. Becoming inadvertently wealthy they acquired the rival company Glasgow Apothocaries in 1919. In 1926 they expanded to Canada, Australia and New Zealand. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the company was again obliged to expand, this time under Wilson's direction. Donald was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

in 1945. His proposers were

James Watt James Watt (; 30 January 1736 (19 January 1736 OS) – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776, which was fun ...

, James Pickering Kendall,

David Bain On 20 June 1994, Robin and Margaret Bain and three of their four childrenArawa, Laniet and Stephenwere shot to death in Dunedin, New Zealand. The only suspects were David Cullen Bain, the eldest son and only survivor, and Robin Bain, the father ...

, and

Edmund Percival Edmund George Vincent Percival, (10 November 1907 – 27 September 1951) was a 20th-century British research chemist. Life He was born in Hinckley in central England on 10 November 1907, the son of Elizabeth Martha Whittaker (1879-1949) and her ...

. He died on 4 August 1950 at

Boat of Garten Boat of Garten ( gd, Coit a' Ghartain; originally: Garten) is a small village and post town in Badenoch and Strathspey, Highland, Scotland. In 1951, the population was less than 400; in 1971, it was almost 500; in 1981, it was almost 700, and the ...

.Journal of the Chemical Society: September 1950 In 1960 the huge company merged with J F MacFarlan & Co to create the group

MacFarlan Smith MacFarlan Smith is a pharmaceutical research company based in Edinburgh, Scotland, founded in 1815. It is part of the Fine Chemical and Catalysts division of Johnson Matthey. Background J.F. Macfarlan J.F. Macfarlan Ltd was founded in 1780 as a ...

References

1898 births 1950 deaths People from Tranent People educated at Broughton High School, Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish chemists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh {{UK-bio-stub