John Anderson Strong (18 February 1915 – 15 December 2012) was a Scottish physician/internist and academic, who served as Professor of 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 ...

and the President of the

Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...

. Born in Ireland, he was educated at Monkton Combe School in Bath, and then studied medicine at Trinity College, Dublin. Shortly after graduating, he entered the Royal Army Medical Corps at the outbreak of 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 opposi ...

, and served in the UK and in the Far East throughout the war. He was awarded the

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

in 1942 for his military work, and mentioned in despatches in 1945 for his service in Burma; after the war, he was given the honorary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the RAMC.''Who's Who'' He then began to teach medicine, and was appointed to the post of Senior Lecturer at the

in 1949, along with the position of honorary consulting physician at the

Western General Hospital The Western General Hospital (often abbreviated to simply ‘The Western General’) is a health facility at Craigleith, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Lothian. History The hospital was designed by Peddie and Kinnear and opened as ...

. In 1959 he was appointed as an honorary physician in the Medical Research Council Clinical and Population Cytogenetics Unit, and in 1966 was appointed to a Chair of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. He retired from the latter two posts in 1980, at the age of 65, and was appointed Professor Emeritus the following year. In 1979 he was appointed President of the

, holding the position until 1982. Other medical work in his later career included sitting as a member of the

Medicines Commission The Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) is a committee of the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. It was formed in October 2005, and assumed the responsibilities of the Medicines Commission and the Committee on Safety of Med ...

from 1976 to 1983, and as the chair of the Scottish Health Education Co-Ordinating Committee from 1986 to 1988. He was a Fellow of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

, the

, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, as well as an honorary fellow of the

American College of Physicians The American College of Physicians (ACP) is a national organization of internists, who specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, and care of adults.Sokanu "What is an Internist?" Retrieved October 20, 2014 With 161,000 members, ACP is the largest ...

(1980), the

Royal College of Physicians of Ireland The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI), ( ga, Coláiste Ríoga Lianna na hÉireann) is an Irish professional body dedicated to improving the practice of general medicine and related medical specialities, chiefly through the accredit ...

(1980), the

College of Physicians of Philadelphia The College of Physicians of Philadelphia is the oldest private medical society in the United States. Founded in 1787 by 24 Philadelphia physicians "to advance the Science of Medicine, and thereby lessen human misery, by investigating the disease ...

, Trinity College, Dublin, the College of Physicians of South Africa, the

Royal College of General Practitioners The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is the professional body for general (medical) practitioners (GPs/ Family Physicians/ Primary Care Physicians) in the United Kingdom. The RCGP represents and supports GPs on key issues including ...

, and a member of the

Academy of Medicine, Singapore The Academy of Medicine, Singapore (AMS), is a professional and educational organisation for doctors and dentists in Singapore. Background The Academy of Medicine, Singapore, was founded in 1957 and served both Singapore and Malaysia until the ...

. He was appointed

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 1978. He married Moira Heaney in 1939, with whom he had one son and two daughters: she died in 1997. He was cited by professor

Bryan Sykes Bryan Clifford Sykes (9 September 1947 – 10 December 2020) was a British geneticist and science writer who was a Fellow of Wolfson College and Emeritus Professor of human genetics at the University of Oxford.Adam's Curse: A Future Without Men''<
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References

* "STRONG, Dr John Anderson", in {{DEFAULTSORT:Strong, John Alexander 1915 births 2012 deaths Scottish surgeons Scottish scholars and academics Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British Army personnel of World War II Royal Army Medical Corps officers Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Academics of the University of Edinburgh Presidents of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal College of General Practitioners Honorary Fellows of Trinity College Dublin People educated at Monkton Combe School