John Martin Munro Kerr (5 December 1868 – 7 October 1960) was Regius Professor of Midwifery at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

from 1927 to 1934. A scholar and surgeon of international acclaim he won both the Katherine Bishop Harman Prize in 1934 for his book ''Maternal Mortality and Morbidity'' (1933) and was the first recipient of the Blair Bell Medal for obstetrics and gynaecology.

Early life

J. M. Munro Kerr was born at Kelvingrove Street in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in 1868 the son of George Munro Kerr (15 November 1836 – 23 June 1907), a Scottish ship-owner from

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

, and Jessie Elizabeth Martin. His grandfather, John Kerr, had been a West Indian Merchant and ship-owner who married an American-born wife; Mary Clark. J. M. Munro Kerr graduated from the University of Glasgow MB CM in 1890. As a senior undergraduate he was present in 1889 when

Murdoch Cameron Murdoch Cameron (31 March 1847 – 28 April 1930) was Regius Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (Glasgow), Regius Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Glasgow from 1894 to 1926. He was a pioneer of the Caesarean sect ...

performed the first series of follow-up

Caesarean section Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or mo ...

operations at the Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital, carried out after Cameron's famous initial success in 1888.

Professional career

Fluent in German and French, Munro Kerr spent a number of years after his graduation in Germany, Austria and Ireland studying obstetrics and gynaecology at Berlin, Vienna and Dublin. From 1894 he acted as Professorial Assistant to Murdoch Cameron, a position that entailed both academic work at the University of Glasgow and practical experience on the obstetrical and gynaecological wards of Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital and Glasgow's Western Infirmary. Appointed Visiting Surgeon at the Maternity Hospital in 1900, he published to great success ''Operative Midwifery'' in 1908. The text was originally written as the thesis for his MD at Glasgow. Munro Kerr was elected to the chair of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Glasgow Anderson College in 1910, and in a rapidly successful career he took the Muirhead chair of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Glasgow in 1911. His First Assistant at this time was

Louise McIlroy Dame Anne Louise McIlroy (11 November 1874 – 8 February 1968), known as Louise McIlroy, was a distinguished and honoured Irish-born British physician, specialising in obstetrics and gynaecology. She was both the first woman to be awarded a ...

. A Foundation Fellow Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1929 Munro Kerr was also its first Vice President until 1932. Succeeding

on his retirement as Professor of Midwifery at Glasgow, Munro Kerr took the chair in the New Year of 1927 holding the position until his retirement in 1934. Munro Kerr won the Katherine Bishop Harman Prize in 1934 for his widely successful book ''Maternal Mortality and Morbidity'' (1933). 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 opposin ...

he acted as Medical Superintendent of the Kent and Canterbury Hospital.

Awards and honours

Munro Kerr was made an honorary LLD by Glasgow in 1935. He was the first recipient of the Blair Bell Medal, awarded to him by the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London. History The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chambers ...

in 1950.

Retirement

Following his retirement he lived in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

, it was there that he died in 1960.

Bibliography

* Kerr, John Martin Munro (1933) ''Maternal Mortality and Morbidity'', Edinburgh, Livingstone. * Kerr, John Martin Munro (1908) ''Operative Midwifery'', London, Baillière, Tindall and Cox. * Peel, John (1976) ''The Lives of the Fellows of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists: 1929-1969'', London, Heinemann Medical Books

References

External links

Personal papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, John Martin Munro Scottish obstetricians Academics of the University of Glasgow 19th-century Scottish medical doctors 20th-century Scottish medical doctors 1868 births 1960 deaths Medical doctors from Glasgow Scottish surgeons Scottish medical writers 20th-century surgeons