Sir John Sibbald

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 ...

FBSE (24 June 1833 – 20 April 1905) was a 19th-century Scottish physician and amateur botanist. In 1855/56, aged 22, he served as president of the

Royal Medical Society The Royal Medical Society (RMS) is a society run by students at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, Scotland. It claims to be the oldest medical society in the United Kingdom although this claim is also made by the earlier London-based ...

Life

He was born at 106 Lauriston Place,

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 ...

on 24 June 1833 the son of Jane Graham (1807–1875), from

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

, Ireland and William Sibbald (1799–1877). He was educated at

Merchiston Castle School Merchiston Castle School is an independent boarding school for boys in the suburb of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has around 470 pupils and is open to boys between the ages of 7 and 18 as either boarding or day pupils; it was modelled a ...

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 ...

. His first position was as House Surgeon at Perth Infirmary. He then did postgraduate studies in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Returning to the UK he was assistant to Sir Richard Quain at Brompton Hospital. He obtained his doctorate (MD) from the University of Edinburgh in 1854. From 1862 to 1870 he was living in

Lochgilphead Lochgilphead (; gd, Ceann Loch Gilb ) is a town and former burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, United Kingdom, with a population of around 2,300 people. It is the administrative centre of Argyll and Bute. The village lies at the end of Loch Gi ...

as medical superintendent of Argyll District Asylum. In 1870 he returned to Edinburgh to become deputy commissioner of the

Royal Edinburgh Hospital The Royal Edinburgh Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Morningside Place, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Lothian. History The "foundational myth" has it that the hospital was founded by Dr Andrew Duncan, the elder, Andrew Duncan ...

under Dr David Skae. At this time he lived at 16 Dalrymple Crescent in the Grange district. In 1872 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 ...

. Ironically, this for his contributions to botany rather than medicine. His proposer was

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 ...

. In 1893 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 ...

. From 1879 to 1899 he was Commissioner of Lunacy for Scotland. He was knighted by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

in 1899 for his contributions to medicine. He was granted a Coat of Arms as a Knight Bachelor in 1901 with the motto "Sursum Specto". He died of throat cancer at home 18 Great King Street, Edinburgh on 20 April 1905.British Medical Journal obituaries 6 May 1905

Family

In 1864, he married Sarah Jane Phelan (b. 1841) daughter of Bernard Paul Phelan of Clonmel (thought to be a second cousin). They had six children.

Publications

*''Insanity in its Public Aspect'' (1877) *''Plans of Modern Asylums'' (1898) *''Suicide Statistics in Scotland'' (1900)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sibbald, John 1833 births 1905 deaths Medical doctors from Edinburgh People educated at Merchiston Castle School Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Scottish botanists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Commissioners in Lunacy