Robert Donald Teare, FRCP, FRCPath (1 July 1911 – 17 January 1979) was a senior British pathologist.

Early life

Teare was born 1 July 1911 on the Isle of Man, and educated at

King William's College King William's College (nicknamed KWC or King Bill's; gv, Colleish Ree Illiam) is an independent school for pupils aged 3 to 18, located near Castletown on the Isle of Man. It is a member of the International Baccalaureate and Headmasters' and ...

, and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He trained at St George's Hospital, London, from where he qualified in 1936. He married Kathleen Agnes Gracey in 1937.

Career

Teare began his career as a lecturer in forensic medicine at

St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College , mottoeng = Temper the bitter things in life with a smile , parent = Queen Mary University of London , president = Lord Mayor of London , head_label = Warden , head = Mark Caulfield , students = 3,410 , undergrad = 2,23 ...

. In 1963 he became reader at St George's Hospital, where he established a department of Forensic Medicine, and eventually professor of forensic medicine at

Charing Cross Hospital Medical School Charing Cross Hospital Medical School (CXHMS) is the oldest of the constituent medical schools of Imperial College School of Medicine. Charing Cross remains a hospital on the forefront of medicine; in recent times pioneering the clinical use of ...

, a post he held until retirement in 1975. Teare was also a lecturer at the Metropolitan Police College, Hendon, and served as President of the Medical Defence Union. He was a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and of the Royal College of Pathologists, and served as President of the British Association in Forensic Medicine in 1962. Teare published the first modern description of

hypertrophic cardiomyopathy Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM, or HOCM when obstructive) is a condition in which the heart becomes thickened without an obvious cause. The parts of the heart most commonly affected are the interventricular septum and the ventricles. This r ...

in 1958. Today this disease is considered the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes. In 1973, Teare carried out the

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...

, as well as

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

's in 1970. Teare supervised the autopsy of Brian Epstein in 1967. Together with Keith Simpson and

Francis Camps Francis Edward Camps, FRCP, FRCPath (28 June 1905 – 8 July 1972) was an English pathologist notable for his work on the cases of serial killer John Christie and suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams. Early life and training Camps was bo ...

, Teare was one of the "Three Musketeers", who dealt with almost all the suspicious deaths in the London area. He was called to give evidence in many high-profile criminal investigations, such as the murder of Beryl Evans and her baby Geraldine in the Timothy Evans case. Teare's accident investigations included the Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash, which killed 112 people in 1952. Teare retired in 1975 and died 17 January 1979 on the Isle of Man, at the age of 67.

References

Sources

* Obituary, The Times, 19 November 1979, p. 30 * Mitchel P. Roth, "Historical dictionary of law enforcement", Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001, , p. 344 * Obituary, British Medical Journal, 3 February 1979, p. 354 {{DEFAULTSORT:Teare, Donald 1911 births 1979 deaths British pathologists Manx people Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians People educated at King William's College 20th-century British medical doctors