Lieutenant-Colonel Nathan Raw (2 August 1866 – 28 August 1940) was a British

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician and a physician well known for his work on tuberculosis and also in the field of medical psychology. Raw was president of the Medico-Psychological Association and president of the Tuberculosis Society of Great Britain. In 1915, he coined the term

trench nephritis Trench nephritis, also known as war nephritis, is a kidney infection, first recognised by medical officers as a new disease during the early part of the First World War and distinguished from the then-understood acute nephritis by also having bron ...

Personal life

Raw began his education at the

Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne (By Learning, You Will Lead) , established = , closed = , type = Grammar SchoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Geoffrey Stanford , r_head_label = , r_head = , chair_label = , cha ...

, and received his medical qualification (M. B.) from

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

in 1888. The same year he received his certificate in Psychological Medicine from

Westminster Hospital Westminster Hospital was a hospital in London, England, founded in 1719. In 1834 a medical school attached to the hospital was formally founded. In 1939 a newly built hospital and medical school opened in Horseferry Road, Westminster. In 1994 the ...

, London. During his time at college he received many prizes and in 1892 Received a Gaskell Gold Medal for his work in Psychological medicine. He received his M.D in 1891 form Durham University while working as the Senior Medical Officer at Bolton Infirmary. He married Annie Louisa Strong in 1897. He died in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 28 August 1940.

Physician

Raw began as the senior resident surgical assistant to the Royal Infirmary,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

in January 1886 and by June was chosen as the senior resident medical assistant. In 1887 he was elected resident clinical officer and pathologist to the Durham County Asylum.Dundee Royal Infirmary, appointment of resident Medical Superintendent, ''Dundee Courier & Argus'', March 3, 1893. By 1889 he held the position of assistant medical officer for the Kent County Asylum and was elected as a member to the

Medico-Psychological Association The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom, and is responsible for representing psychiatrists, for psychiatric research and for providing public information about mental health ...

. In the same year he became the assistant medical-superintendent at Portsmouth Lunatic Asylum and held the position until at least January 1891. Raw stayed in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

until March 1893 when he became the medical-superintendent and pathologist at

Dundee Royal Infirmary Dundee Royal Infirmary, often shortened to DRI, was a major teaching hospital in Dundee, Scotland. Until the opening of Ninewells Hospital in 1974, Dundee Royal Infirmary was Dundee's main hospital. It was closed in 1998, after 200 years of opera ...

. In 1897 Raw was one of 58 applicants for the role of medical superintendent at the recently refurbished Mill Road Infirmary and he was appointed to the position in August 1897. Mill Road Infirmary was the largest Poor Law hospital in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and the recipient of the West Derby Union patients. In 1922 Raw became the Lord Chancellor's visitor in lunacy after the retirement of Dr.

James Crichton-Browne Sir James Crichton-Browne MD FRS FRSE (29 November 1840 – 31 January 1938) was a leading Scottish psychiatrist, neurologist and eugenicist. He is known for studies on the relationship of mental illness to brain injury and for the developmen ...

. He held the position until his retirement in 1938 after which he was replaced by Dr.

Albert Edward Evans Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

. In his later years he had a general consulting practice in London and presided over three professional organisations: the

Royal Medico-Psychological Association The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom, and is responsible for representing psychiatrists, for psychiatric research and for providing public information about mental health ...

, the Hunterian Society, and the Tuberculosis Association.Obituary, ''Lancet'', p. 346 He was the President of the Royal Medico-Psychological Society (1929–30) and for 14 years Chairman of its Parliamentary Committee. He was also fellow for the Royal Society Edinburgh, the Royal Meteorological Society, member of the Medical Psychological and British Medical Associations as well as the British Member of International Committee for Prevention of Consumption.

Focus of research

Raw was most famous for his study on tuberculosis and the tuberculin ‘R’ and a great deal of that expertise came due his position at Mill Road Infirmary. During his Mill Road years he continued to publish on epilepsy, infections and their treatment, gynaecology, aneurisms, arsenic poisonings and the epidemic that was going on in Liverpool and Manchester at the beginning of the 20th century, as well as one paper on mental disease.

Military service

During 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 ...

Raw served as lieutenant-colonel and commanding officer of the last 1st Western General Hospital, Lancashire, and also as commanding officer and senior physician of the Liverpool Hospital of the B.E.F. in France. Raw served with 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 ...

He was appointed a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

in the

1918 New Year Honours The 1918 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Ja ...

Member of Parliament

At the general election in December 1918, Raw was elected as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

Liverpool Wavertree Liverpool Wavertree is a borough constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1997 and every election since has been won by a Labour Party candidate. An earlier constituency of the same name existed between 1918 and ...

. He did not stand again at the 1922 general election.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raw, Nathan Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1918–1922 20th-century English medical doctors 1866 births 1940 deaths Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Alumni of Durham University College of Medicine British Army personnel of World War I Royal Army Medical Corps officers