Morris Youdelevitz Young (17 July 1880 –1950 ?), known as the "little doctor", was a British medical doctor and researcher. He is best known for working at the

Anglo-Persian Oil Company The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) was a British company founded in 1909 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Persia (Iran). The British government purchased 51% of the company in 1914, gaining a controlling number ...

and for pioneering western medicine in south-west

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. He also worked with

Alexander Fleming Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish physician and microbiologist, best known for discovering the world's first broadly effective antibiotic substance, which he named penicillin. His discovery in 1928 of w ...

at the St. Mary's Hospital in London.

Early life and education

Born on 17 July 1880 at

Kremenchuk Kremenchuk (; uk, Кременчу́к, Kremenchuk ) is an industrial city in central Ukraine which stands on the banks of the Dnipro River. The city serves as the administrative center of the Kremenchuk Raion (district) in Poltava Oblast (pr ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. He was the first son of eight children of Reuven Yudalevich (1862–1933) and Batya Weisel (1859–1930). At the age of two, he emigrated with his family from

Rishon Le Zion Rishon LeZion ( he, רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , ''lit.'' First to Zion, Arabic: راشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan a ...

, of which his father was a founder. In 1900, he began studying medicine and surgery at the

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

. His birth name was Moshe Youdelevitz, but he changed his name during his time at the university. During his studies, in 1903, he worked as a doctor for a railway survey party in Persia. He became a citizen of the United Kingdom on 21 February 1906. He graduated on 17 July 1906 with a

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery 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 ...

Physician in the Anglo-Persian Oil Company

In April 1907, Young began work as a physician for Concessions Syndicate Ltd., which eventually became the

in Masjid-i-Suleiman. In 1909, due to being involved with the care of the son of a Bakhtiari clan leader, Shahab-es-Sultana, the relations between the Bakhtiari clans and the oil company improved. The improved relations and subsequent usage of the clans as a guard led to Young being appointed a political officer in addition to his medical duties in 1911. During a sabbatical from May–July 1910, Young studied at the London School for Tropical Medicine. During this time, Young declined a job offer for West Africa with better pay but chose to stay on at the oil company with an increase in salary. In 1924, Young was responsible for the medical department including employee health and medical staff training. The medical activities of Young and the medical department focused primarily on the industry and its workers but also spread to the surrounding local inhabitants. Young left Persia in 1927 and retired officially from APOC in 1931. He consulted as a medical advisor and political officer for a number of years after his retirement.

St. Mary's and Alexander Fleming

Between 1931 and 1935, Young worked as a physician and researcher at St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington with

. During this time, he published two journal articles with Fleming. During

World War II 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 ...

, Young worked at the Emergency Pathological Service for District Six. Young died in 1950 after resigning from St. Marys in 1949.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Morris 1880 births 1950 deaths 20th-century British medical doctors British expatriates in Iran Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire Jews in Ottoman Palestine Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the United Kingdom People from Kremenchuk People from Rishon LeZion Alumni of the University of Glasgow Medical School Anglo-Persian Oil Company Jewish physicians 20th-century British Jews British people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent