Robert Evan Kendell, (28 March 1935 − 19 December 2002) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

psychiatrist. He was Chief Medical Officer of Scotland 1991−96 and President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists 1996−99.

Background

He was born on 28 March 1935 in Yorkshire, the son of teachers and spent some of his childhood in Wales. He was educated at the

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 mixed independent, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History A committee of Nonconformist me ...

in London then won a scholarship to

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

, where he was awarded a Double First in the Natural Sciences Tripos. After further study at the

King's College Hospital Medical School GKT School of Medical Education (abbreviated: GKT) is the medical school of King's College London. The school has campuses at three institutions, Guy's Hospital ( Southwark), King's College Hospital ( Denmark Hill) and St Thomas' Hospital ( La ...

and a brief stint in internal medicine he joined the

Maudsley Hospital The Maudsley Hospital is a British psychiatric hospital in south London. The Maudsley is the largest mental health training institution in the UK. It is part of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and works in partnership with the In ...

and trained under Sir Aubrey Lewis. Kendell was later awarded the Gaskell Medal. Aged 38 he was appointed to the chair of psychiatry 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 ...

. In 1986 he was made the Dean of the Medical School and during his four years in this post he supervised a period of expansion. In 1991 he was appointed the Chief Medical Officer of Scotland. In 1997 he was elected the president of the

Royal College of Psychiatrists 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 ...

and served for a three-year term. As Chief Medical Officer, he worked to build awareness of the influence of diet and smoking on health, as well as contributing to the responses to

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and invariably fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of t ...

and

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

Research

He published more that 200 papers during his career, continuing after he had retired from employment. Much of his work focussed on the classification and diagnosis of mental disorders

Awards and honours

He was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in 2002. He was elected

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 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 ...

(FRSE). He was awarded the Paul Hoch Medal of the

American Psychopathological Association The American Psychopathological Association (APPA) is an organization "devoted to the scientific investigation of disordered human behavior, and its biological and psychosocial substrates." The association’s primary purpose is running an annual ...

; and the Marce Medal. He was a member of the World Health Organisation's Expert Advisory Panel on Mental Health for 12 years. In 1984 he was elected a member of the

Aesculapian Club The Aesculapian Club of Edinburgh is one of the oldest medical dining clubs in the world. It was founded in April 1773 by Dr. Andrew Duncan. Membership of the Club is limited to 11 Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh ...

Death

On 19 December 2002 he collapsed and died later that day, of an unsuspected brain tumour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kendell Robertevan 1935 births 2002 deaths People educated at Mill Hill School Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Welsh scholars and academics 20th-century Welsh medical doctors Welsh psychiatrists Chief Medical Officers for Scotland Academics of the University of Edinburgh Commanders of the Order of the British Empire