Jack Suchet (10 May 1908 – 9 September 2001) was a South African-born English consultant

obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgic ...

and gynaecologist, who carried out research on the use of penicillin in the treatment of

venereal disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are Transmission (medicine), spread by Human sexual activity, sexual activity, especi ...

with

Sir Alexander Fleming Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish physician and microbiologist, best known for discovering the world's first broadly effective antibiotic substance, which he named penicillin. His discovery in 1928 of what ...

in London. He was the father of television news journalist

John Suchet John Aleck Suchet ( ; born 29 March 1944) is an English author, television news journalist, and presenter of classical music on Classic FM. Suchet has two brothers, one of whom is the actor Sir David Suchet. Early life Suchet was born in Lon ...

and actor David Suchet.

Early life

Suchet was born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, in 1908 to Isidor Suchedowitz, a

Lithuanian Jewish Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent area ...

immigrant from Memel. His father, who had changed the family surname from Suchedowitz to Suchet, wanted Jack to go into business, and he studied Business Administration at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

in South Africa. Suchet emigrated from South Africa to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1932. He had to struggle initially, and he sold

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

s at

Paddington Station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great ...

, sold his own blood, played

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

for money, and carried out doping tests on

greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...

s' saliva. The game of bridge remained his hobby of choice even in his retirement. In 1933 Suchet started training as a medical student at St Mary's Hospital Medical School (the school is now part of

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

). After being a junior resident, he chose to specialise in obstetrics and gynaecology.

Career

Suchet worked at St Mary's Hospital in the department of obstetrics, and later as director of the department of

venereology Venereology is a branch of medicine that is concerned with the study and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The name derives from Roman goddess Venus, associated with love, beauty and fertility. A physician specializing in vener ...

. During

World War II 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 opposing ...

, he worked with Sir Alexander Fleming on the use of penicillin for the treatment of venereal disease. He also worked with the Royal Army Medical Corps and later returned to St Mary's. In 1953, he became a consultant and started practice on Harley Street, as well as working in East London hospitals.

Personal life

In 1943, Suchet married Joan Jarché, daughter of Fleet Street photographer,

James Jarché James Jarché (8 September 1890 – 6 August 1965) was a Fleet Street photographer notable for the first pictures of Edward VIII and the then-unidentified Wallis Simpson and also for his pictures of Louis Blériot (1909) and the Siege of Sidn ...

. They had three sons: Peter Suchet;

, the newsreader; and David Suchet, the actor. He was an atheist."Suchet's father Jack, an atheist and eminent surgeon, emigrated from South Africa to England in the 1930s and never spoke about his family's past." 'Suchet traces Russian Jewish roots', The Press Association, 9 September 2008 (Retrieved 9 September 2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suchet, Jack 1908 births 2001 deaths 20th-century English medical doctors English obstetricians English gynaecologists English Jews English atheists Jewish atheists British medical researchers University of Cape Town alumni People from Johannesburg South African emigrants to the United Kingdom South African people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent