Norman Henry Ashton CBE, FRCP, FRCS, FRCPATH,

FRCOphth The Royal College of Ophthalmologists, founded in 1988, is an independent professional body and one of the Medical Royal Colleges. They set the standards and examinations for medical doctors aiming to become ophthalmologists, and provide surgic ...

, FRS (11 September 1913 – 4 January 2000) was a British ophthalmologist and pathologist. Ashton studied medicine at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, doing his practical work at Westminster Hospital Medical School (now Imperial College School of Medicine), and qualified in 1939 with a specialisation in pathology. In 1941 he became a pathologist for Kent and Canterbury Hospital, leaving in 1945 to serve 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 ...

. After demobilisation in 1947 he was invited to become Director of Pathology at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, a position he held for 30 years. During this time he did key research on retinopathy, and was one of the scientists who connected the delivery of oxygen to premature babies with retinopathy of prematurity. He was the first to report on cases in the U.K. of children with larval granulomatosis of the retina from intra-ocular nematode infestation by larvae of '' Toxocara canis''. Ashton established the

European Ophthalmic Pathology Society The European Ophthalmic Pathology Society is a learned society for advancing ophthalmic pathology, the study of the pathological basis of the diseases of the eye and its adnexa: the orbit, eyelids, conjunctiva and the lacrimal apparatus. History Fo ...

, becoming its first president, and after helping found the Fight for Sight charity in 1965 he became its president in 1980. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1971, and was appointed Companion of the Order of the British Empire in 1976. He won the

Buchanan Medal The Buchanan Medal is awarded by the Royal Society "in recognition of distinguished contribution to the medical sciences generally". The award was created in 1897 from a fund to the memory of London physician Sir George Buchanan (1831–1895). I ...

of the Royal Society in 1996 and served as president of five different ophthalmological associations before his death on 4 January 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashton, Norman Henry 1913 births 2000 deaths Physicians of the Westminster Hospital Alumni of King's College London British pathologists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights of the Order of St John Fellows of the Royal Society Royal Army Medical Corps officers 20th-century English medical doctors Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons Fellows of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists