Dr James Dunsmure FRSE FRCSEd (23 April 1814 – 15 October 1886) was a Scottish surgeon. He served as President of the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The College has seven active faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical practices. Its main campus is located o ...

Life

The grave of Dr James Dunsmure, Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh

He was born at 33 George Street in

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

on 23 April 1814 the son of Susan Drysdale and her husband, James Dunsmure (1771-1858), Secretary to the Fisheries Board for Scotland. He was educated at the

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in Edinburgh then the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

receiving his doctorate (MD) in 1835.British Medical Journal: obituary: 23 October 1886 He worked as a house surgeon under Dr John Lizars before taking up a senior position at the

Edinburgh Royal Infirmary The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, or RIE, often (but incorrectly) known as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest v ...

. He was both examiner and assessor to the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the University of Edinburgh, and house surgeon to John Watson’s Hospital and the

North British Railway Company The North British Railway was a British railway company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, and from the outset the company followe ...

. He was a lecturer in surgery at the

Edinburgh Extramural School of Medicine Extramural medical education in Edinburgh began over 200 years before the university medical faculty was founded in 1726 and extramural teaching continued thereafter for a further 200 years. Extramural is academic education which is conducted o ...

at Surgeons' Hall. In 1857 he was elected a member of the

Aesculapian Club The Aesculapian Club of Edinburgh is one of the oldest medical dining clubs in the world. It was founded in April 1773 by Dr. Andrew Duncan. Membership of the Club is limited to 11 Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh ...

. In 1866 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh his proposer being

John Hutton Balfour John Hutton Balfour (15 September 1808 – 11 February 1884) was a Scottish botanist. Balfour became a Professor of Botany, first at the University of Glasgow in 1841, moving to the University of Edinburgh and also becoming the 7th Regius Kee ...

. He was a member of the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a per ...

, winning the Queen’s prize for accuracy on three occasions and the Edinburgh Arrow as the finest archer in 1860. He was also a church elder in the Church of Scotland from 1847 to 1886. From 1865 to 1867 he was President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, replacing Benjamin Bell ( Joseph Bell's father). He died at home, 53 Queen Street (previously the home of

John Mortland John Mortland or Morthland of Rindmuir FRSE (1751–1807) was a Scottish advocate who was one of the joint founders of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1783. Life He was born on 14 January 1751 at Rindmuir House in Glasgow the son of Matthew ...

of Rindmuir) in Edinburgh’s New Town on 15 October 1886. He has buried with his family in Dean Cemetery in western Edinburgh. The white marble monument lies against the north wall of the original cemetery.

Family

He was married to Catherine Hill (1815-1882). Their son James Dunsmure Jr FRCSE LLD (1846-1907) was also a surgeon. Their son Robert Dunsmure immigrated to Australia where he was a pastoralist and Member of the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly h ...

. Another son was George Hill Dunsmure (1856-1924).

Neighbours

In his Queen Street home he was a neighbour to Sir James Young Simpson and

Francis Brodie Imlach Francis Brodie Imlach FRCSEd (1819-1891) was a Scottish pioneer of modern dentistry, and the first person to use chloroform on a dental patient. He helped to raise the profile of dentistry from a back street trade to full professional stat ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunsmure, James 1814 births 1886 deaths 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Medical doctors from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Presidents of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Medical School