Robert Young Keers

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

FRCPE FRCPSG (1908–1982) was a 20th-century Irish-born physician and medical author. He was an expert in

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and battled with the disease both personally and in his duties.

Life

He was born on 30 March 1908 in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

the son of Rev William Keers (b.1869) and his wife Matilda Cameron. In 1911 the family were living in Drumbaragh, Killeevan near

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7 ...

. He studied medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

graduating with an MB in 1930. He represented the University in cross-country running events despite serious breathing difficulties, having contracted

during his studies. His own experience drove him to study the disease in depth. He had various appointments in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

and

Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town, parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother inland from the English Channel, and north of the county town of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first recorded in 1186 as ''Middeh ...

before spending some years in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

where there was international recognition of their sanatorium standards. In 1939 he returned to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

as superintendent of Tor-na-Dee Sanatorium where he remained until 1957. In 1944 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, is an institute of physicians and surgeons in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by Peter Lowe after receiving a royal charter by James VI in 1599, as the Glasgow Faculty, it originally exist ...

. In 1951 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were David Lawson,

Andrew Fergus Hewat Dr Andrew Fergus Hewat FRSE (1884–3 August 1957) was a Scottish physician involved with mental health. He donated the Fergus Hewat Cup to the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, an annual golf championship. This is played between the Roy ...

Douglas Guthrie Douglas James Guthrie FRSE FRCS FRCP FRCSEd FRCPE (8 September 1885 – 8 June 1975) was a Scottish medical doctor, otolaryngologist and historian of medicine. After graduating in Medicine from Edinburgh University, he pursued postgraduate stu ...

and Charles McNeil. Around 1951 he was given the additional role as superintendent of the far larger Glen O'Dee Sanatorium nearby at

Banchory Banchory (, sco, Banchry, gd, Beannchar) is a burgh or town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is about west of Aberdeen, near where the Feugh River meets the River Dee. Prehistory and archaeology In 2009, a farmer discovered a short cist ...

. He was also made Honorary Consultant to the British Army in Scotland in relation to diseases of the chest. Both sanatoria came under the charge of the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

in 1955. He left both these Aberdeenshire roles in 1957. He relocated to

North Staffordshire The federation of Stoke-on-Trent was the 1910 amalgamation of the six Staffordshire Potteries towns of Burslem, Tunstall, Stoke-upon-Trent, Hanley, Fenton and Longton into the single county borough of Stoke-on-Trent. An anomaly in the history ...

Chest Centre where he remained until retiral in 1973. He retired to the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. He died on 1 December 1982.

Family

He married Jessie Cameron Lockie in 1939. She was born in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1907 and had trained as a lawyer. His first wife died in 1959. He then married Jill Trotter and they had two children.

Publications

*Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Handbook for Students and Practitioners (1946) with B. G. Rigden *Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Journey Down the Centuries (1978)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keers, Robert Young 1908 births 1982 deaths Medical doctors from County Antrim Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 20th-century Irish medical doctors Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Irish pulmonologists Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom British expatriates in Switzerland Medical doctors from County Monaghan