John Duncan

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 ...

LLD (1839-1899) was a Scottish surgeon who 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 on ...

1889 to 1891. On his father's death in 1866 he took over as director of the major drug manufacturer Duncan Flockhart & Co.

Life

The Duncan grave in Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh

He was born on 18 August 1839 the son of Dr James Duncan then residing at 7 Dundas Street. He studied at the High School in Edinburgh then 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 ...

. He graduated MA and received his MD in 1862. Part of his early training was under

James Syme James Syme (7 November 1799 – 26 June 1870) was a pioneering Scottish surgeon. Early life James Syme was born on 7 November 1799 at 56 Princes Street in Edinburgh. His father was John Syme WS of Cartmore and Lochore, estates in Fife ...

. In 1866 he inherited his father's house at 12 Heriot Row. In 1870 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 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 Keepe ...

. In 1870 he was also 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 ...

. From 1875 he was assistant surgeon 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 ...

being promoted to Senior Surgeon in 1887. He also served on the Board of Managers for the Infirmary. In 1890 Dr Henry Alexis Thomson worked with him as his assistant. He retired as a surgeon in 1895, that being the usual practice at the time. His Edinburgh home was 8 Ainslie PlaceEdinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1898-99 on the exclusive Moray Estate in western Edinburgh. He died at Kinloch on the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

on 24 August 1899, a few days after his 60th birthday. He is buried with his parents and wife on "Lord's Row" on the western wall 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 ...

Family

His wife Jemima (1841-1885) died aged 44. His children were James Duncan (1867-1942), Eliza Alexandra Duncan (1868-1943), Margaret Duncan (1870-1941), Mary Elizabeth Morrison Duncan (1872-?), Ethel Graham Weir Duncan (1877-1947). He was the uncle to

William James Stuart William James Stuart CBE PRCSE FRSE (1873-1958) was a 20th-century Scottish surgeon who served as President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh from 1937 to 1939. He was affectionately known as Pussy Stuart. Life He was born the so ...

(1874-1959).

Publications

*''Angioma and Other Papers''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, John 1839 births 1899 deaths Medical doctors from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Edinburgh Scottish surgeons 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Presidents of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh