John William Watson Stephens FRS (1865–1946) was a British parasitologist and expert on tropical diseases. After a term at

Christ College, Brecon Christ College, Brecon, is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school, located in the cathedral and market town of Brecon in mid-Wales. It currently caters for pupils aged 7–18 years. History Christ College was founded by Roya ...

and then completion of secondary school at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

, Stephens matriculated in 1884 at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

, graduating there with B.A. in 1887. He received his medical education at

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

, receiving there M.B. and B.Chir. in 1893 and D.P.H. in 1894. Stephens held in 1895–1886 a Sir Trevor Lawrence research studentship in pathology and bacteriology at St Bartholomew's Hospital and in 1897 a John Lucas Walker research studentship in pathology at Cambridge. He became in 1897 an Assistant Bacteriologist to the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

. In 1898–1902 he was a member of the Royal Society's malaria commission in Africa and India. At

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) is a higher education institution with degree awarding powers and registered charity located in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Established in 1898, it was the first institution in the world dedicated ...

he was from 1903 to 1913 the Walter Myers Lecturer in Tropical Medicine and, as the successor to Sir

Ronald Ross Sir Ronald Ross (13 May 1857 – 16 September 1932) was a British medical doctor who received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1902 for his work on the transmission of malaria, becoming the first British Nobel laureate, and the f ...

, from 1913 to 1928 the Alfred Jones Professor of Tropical Medicine. In World War I he was a malaria consultant with rank of Lieutenant-Colonel,

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 ...

. He was a member of the Colonial Medical Research Committee in 1927 and the president of the

Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, more commonly known by its acronym RSTMH, was founded in 1907 by Sir James Cantlie and George Carmichael Low. Sir Patrick Manson, the Society's first President (1907–1909), was recognised as "th ...

in 1927–1928. Stephens and H. B. Fantham did pioneering work on

sleeping sickness African trypanosomiasis, also known as African sleeping sickness or simply sleeping sickness, is an insect-borne parasitic infection of humans and other animals. It is caused by the species ''Trypanosoma brucei''. Humans are infected by two typ ...

and were the first to distinguish ''Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense'' from ''Trypanosoma brucei gambiense'' (although they called ''T. brucei gambiense'' and ''T. brucei rhodesiense'' by the names ''T. gambiense'' and ''T. rhodesiense'', respectively — contrary to contemporary taxonomy). There are several species of the protozoan parasite ''Plasmodium'' that cause malaria in humans. One such species, namely ''

Plasmodium ovale ''Plasmodium ovale'' is a species of parasitic protozoon that causes tertian malaria in humans. It is one of several species of ''Plasmodium'' parasites that infect humans, including ''Plasmodium falciparum'' and ''Plasmodium vivax'' which are ...

'', was first described in 1914 by Stephens in a blood sample taken from a patient in

Pachmarhi Pachmarhi is a hill station in Narmadapuram district of Madhya Pradesh states and territories of India, state of central India. It has been the location of a cantonment (Pachmarhi Cantonment) since British Raj. It is widely known as ''Satpura ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

in the autumn of 1913. He married in 1901 and was the father of two sons. He retired to Holcwm, Ferryside, Kidwelly. In 1935 he conducted archaeological excavations on the nearby hill of Allt

Cunedda Cunedda ap Edern, also called Cunedda ''Wledig'' ( 5th century), was an important early Welsh people, Welsh leader, and the progenitor of the Royal dynasty of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd, one of the very oldest of western Europe. Name The n ...

, but made little record. He did find, somewhere on the hill, the broken head of a stone hammer axe.Kidwelly Histor

accessed 11 Dec 2022

Selected works

*with Rickard Christophers, S. R. Christophers:
French translation, published 1906
*

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, John William Watson 1865 births 1946 deaths People educated at Dulwich College Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Malariologists British parasitologists Fellows of the Royal Society Indian Medical Service officers People from Carmarthenshire Manson medal winners Presidents of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Academics of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine