John Tait (1878–21 October 1944) was a 20th-century Scottish physician, physiologist and medical author. He was Emeritus Professor of Medicine at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

in Canada.

Life

He was born at

St Ola St Ola is a parish on Mainland, Orkney. It is in the centre of the island, east of the parish Firth and north of Holm. It contains the capital and largest town of the Orkney archipelago, Kirkwall. Both Kirkwall ( non, kirkjuvagr, church-bay) and ...

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

in 1878. He 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 ...

, graduating M.D. in 1906, and winning the Gold Medal for best in class that same year. In 1907 John Tait gained a D.Sc. He undertook postgraduate studies at

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and began lecturing in Experimental Physiology at Edinburgh in 1910. His essay on “Yohimbine : a contribution to the study of narcotic agents” was awarded the Edinburgh University Milner Fothergill Medal in Therapeutics, 1911. 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 served 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 ...

in Macedonia and Italy. In 1917 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 proposers were Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer,

James Cossar Ewart James Cossar Ewart FRS FRSE (26 November 1851 – 31 December 1933) was a Scottish zoologist. He performed breeding experiments with horses and zebras which disproved earlier theories of heredity. Life Ewart was born in Penicuik, Midlo ...

James Lorrain Smith James Lorrain Smith FRS FRSE FRCPE (21 August 1862 – 18 April 1931) was a Scottish pathologist known for his works in human physiology, especially his research on respiration in collaboration with John Scott Haldane. Life He was born in th ...

and

Cargill Gilston Knott Cargill Gilston Knott FRS, FRSE LLD (30 June 1856 – 26 October 1922) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was a pioneer in seismological research. He spent his early career in Japan. He later became a Fellow of the Royal Society, ...

. He won the Society's

Neill Prize 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 ...

for 1917–1919, and resigned in 1936. From 1919 to 1940 he was

Joseph Morley Drake Joseph Morley Drake (1828-1886) was a British doctor and educator. Drake studied chemistry at the London Polytechnic Institute, graduation as an analytical chemist in 1845. That same year, he migrated to Canada, where he worked as a pharmacist. De ...

Professor of Physiology at

. This followed a 4-year interregnum during the

following the premature death of Prof George Mines. He was joined in his work by W. J. McNally and

Boris Babkin Boris Petrovitch Babkin FRS, M.D., D.Sc, LL.D (russian: Бори́с Петро́вич Ба́бкин; 17 January 1877 – 3 May 1950) was a Russian-born physiologist, who worked in Russia, England and Canada. Career Babkin graduated f ...

. In 1938 he had a heart attack, forcing him into semi-retirement. He retired fully in 1940 and had a return trip to Scotland. His position as Professor of Physiology was filled by Babkin. He died in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

on 21 October 1944.

References

1878 births 1944 deaths People from Orkney Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish physiologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada {{Scotland-med-bio-stub