John Wedgwood

CBE 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 o ...

(28 September 1919 – 30 August 2007), was until his death the

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

to the barony Wedgwood, as elder son of the second son of the 1st Baron Wedgwood. He was a noted British medical doctor, whose death was commemorated with a long obituary in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

''; his area of specialisation was

geriatric medicine Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on providing care for the unique health needs of older adults. The term ''geriatrics'' originates from the Greek γέρων ''geron'' meaning "old man", and ιατρός ''iatros' ...

and improving conditions for elderly patients. John Wedgwood was the elder son of the Hon.

Josiah Wedgwood Josiah Wedgwood (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795) was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the indust ...

– later the managing director of the

Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapid ...

pottery firm – by his wife the former Dorothy Mary Winser. He was educated at

Abbotsholme School Abbotsholme School is a co-educational independent boarding and day school. The school is situated on a 140-acre campus on the banks of the River Dove in Derbyshire, England near the county border and the village of Rocester in Staffordshire ...

and then at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

before going on to

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...

. He studied

surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

but was wounded during 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 ...

, which left him unable to stand for long periods of time and therefore unable to practice surgery. He switched to general medicine, initially specialising in

cardiology Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart d ...

before becoming interesting in geriatric and disability medicine. In 1987 he was appointed

for his work. He was twice married, and had three sons and two daughters by his first wife Margaret Mason whom he married 1943 and divorced 1971. He was also survived by his second wife Jo Tamlyn (née Ripsher) whom he married in 1972. From 1970 he was the

to his nephew, the 4th

Baron Wedgwood Baron Wedgwood, of Barlaston in the County of Stafford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1942 for the soldier and politician Josiah Wedgwood. He was the great-great-grandson of Josiah Wedgwood, the founder of the ...

. His eldest son, Antony John Wedgwood, born in 1944, succeeded as the 5th Baron in January 2014. He is buried on the eastern side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

External links

John Wedgwood
Obituary in ''The Times'', 19 September 2007
John Wedgwood
Obituary in the ''Daily Telegraph'' 1 September 2007. * Michael Rhodes
Information on Wedgwood succession
in ''Peerage News'' online discussion group. Posted 3 September 2007. Retrieved 7 September 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wedgwood, John 1919 births 2007 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery 20th-century English medical doctors Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Darwin–Wedgwood family People educated at Abbotsholme School