George Paul McNichol (24 September 1929 – 28 July 2014) was a Scottish physician and university academic. He was the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

from 1981 to 1991.

Early life

McNicol was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and studied at the local

Hillhead High School Hillhead High School is a day school in Glasgow, Scotland, on Oakfield Avenue, neighbouring the University of Glasgow. Admissions It is one of the largest schools in Glasgow. History Grammar school Until 1972 it was a co-educational selectiv ...

and medicine at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

Career

McNicol worked as a surgeon and physician before returning to academia via a

Harkness Fellowship The Harkness Fellowship (previously known as the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship) is a program run by the Commonwealth Fund of New York City. This fellowship was established to reciprocate the Rhodes Scholarships and enable Fellows from several cou ...

at the Washington University, St Louis in America. He then gained a PhD from the University of Glasgow in 1965. His early academic career was at the University of Glasgow and he spent a secondment at Mekerere University College Medical School, Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi. He returned to the UK and was appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Medicine at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. He left Leeds to take up his next appointment as the Principal of the University of Aberdeen in 1981. He was awarded a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1992 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1992 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

.United Kingdom list:

Personal life

In 1959, he married Susan Moira Ritchie. They had three children and four grandchildren.

References

External links

''Royal College of Physicians'' Obituary 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNicol, George Paul 1929 births 2014 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow People educated at Hillhead High School Principals of the University of Aberdeen Harkness Fellows Academics of the University of Leeds