Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Sir John Smith Knox Boyd, OBE, FRS, FRCP (18 September 1891 – 10 June 1981) was a Scottish bacteriologist and a senior officer in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

(RAMC).

Biography

Boyd was born in

Largs Largs ( gd, An Leargaidh Ghallda) is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town mark ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

, to John Knox Boyd, a bank agent, and his wife Margaret Wilson Smith, the younger Boyd attended

Largs Academy Largs Academy is a Scottish secondary school, opened in August 1970, serving the towns of Largs, Fairlie, Skelmorlie and the island of Cumbrae, as well as taking placement requests from across Scotland, from places such as West Kilbride, Be ...

before studying medicine at

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

under Sir

Robert Muir Robert Muir may refer to: * Robert Muir (pathologist) (1864–1959), Scottish pathologist *Robert Muir (politician) (1919–2011), Canadian politician * Robbie Muir (footballer) (born 1953), Australian rules footballer * Bob Muir (coach), American ...

and Carl Browning. He came top in his year, securing the Brunton Medal, when he graduated

MB ChB Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

in 1913 (he subsequently secured the Diploma in Public Health (DPH) from Cambridge in 1924 and the

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

(MD) degree from Glasgow in 1948) and joined the RAMC the following year, serving in France, Belgium and

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

in 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 ...

. He remained with the RAMC until 1946, also seeing action in 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 opposin ...

in the Middle East and North West Europe; for the year 1945–46, he was Director of Pathology at the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

. After retiring from the Army with the rank of

, he became Director of the Wellcome Laboratories of Tropical Medicine, remaining in office until 1955. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1958, appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire 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 ...

(OBE) in 1942, and a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

and 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 ...

in 1951. He received honorary doctorates from the universities of

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

and Glasgow and the

Manson Medal The Manson Medal (full name Sir Patrick Manson Medal, originally the Manson Memorial Medal), named in honour of Sir Patrick Manson, is the highest accolade the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene awards. Started in 1923, it is awarded tri ...

in 1968. He was married twice, firstly to Elizabeth Edgar from 1918 till her death in 1956, and secondly to Mary Murphy (daughter of D. H. Murphy) from 1957 until her death in 1968.''The Times'' (London), 13 June 1981, p. 18."Biography: Captain (Temporary Commission) John Smith Knox Boyd"
''University of Glasgow''. Retrieved 8 January 2018. The bacteria ''

Shigella boydii ''Shigella boydii'' is a Gram-negative bacterium of the genus ''Shigella''. Like other members of the genus, ''S. boydii'' is a nonmotile, nonsporeforming, rod-shaped bacterium which can cause dysentery in humans through fecal-oral contamination ...

'' is named after him.

Biography

References

Further reading