Sir James Ormiston Affleck

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 ...

(19 July 1840 – 24 September 1922) was a Scottish physician and medical author.

Life

The grave of James Ormiston Affleck, Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh

Affleck was born 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 ...

in 1840, but not to a medical family. He studied medicine at 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 ...

, graduating in 1867 with MB ChB. He completed his doctorate in 1869 and began practicing in the Stockbridge area of the city, operating from 12 Claremont Place. He also took on the role of public vaccinator at the New Town Dispensary. Sir Douglas Maclagan grew aware of his talents and chose Affleck as his assistant in the University and 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 ...

. In 1877 Affleck became the official Assistant Physician. He was promoted to official Physician to the infirmary in 1885. He retired from the Infirmary in 1900 and took on the role of Consulting Physician for the City Fever Hospital, and also worked at the Longmore Hospital for Incurables. In 1896 he 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 ...

. His proposers were Sir Douglas Maclagan,

Sir William Turner Sir William Turner (7 January 1832, in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster – 15 February 1916, in Edinburgh) was an English anatomist and was the Principal of the University of Edinburgh from 1903 to 1916. Life Turner was born in Lancaster ...

Alexander Crum Brown Alexander Crum Brown FRSE FRS (26 March 1838 – 28 October 1922) was a Scottish organic chemist. Alexander Crum Brown Road in Edinburgh's King's Buildings complex is named after him. Early life and education Crum Brown was born at 4 Bellev ...

and Sir Thomas Richard Fraser. In 1905 he served as President of the Edinburgh Medico-Chirurgical Society. In later life he lived at 38 Heriot Row, a Georgian townhouse in Edinburgh’s New Town. The University of Edinburgh gave him a further honorary doctorate (LLD) in 1908. He was knighted at

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinbu ...

in 1911 by

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

for his services to medicine. He died at home on 24 September 1922, and is buried with his wife Agnes in the north-west section of the first north extension of

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...

in western Edinburgh.

Family

His son, also James Ormiston Affleck, was educated at Edinburgh Academy and later served as a Major in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

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 ...

Publications

*''Functional Disorders of the Heart'' (1869) *''Practice of Physic'' (1883) co-written with Byrom Bramwell *''Skin Diseases'' (1887) *Article on ''Fever'' in

Encyclopaedia Britannica An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

(1902)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Affleck, James Ormiston 1840 births 1922 deaths Medical doctors from Edinburgh University of Edinburgh Medical School alumni 19th-century Scottish medical doctors 20th-century Scottish medical doctors Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Knights Bachelor Scottish non-fiction writers Burials at the Dean Cemetery