The grave of Thomas Clouston, Dean Cemetery

Sir Thomas Smith Clouston (22 April 1840 – 19 April 1915) was a Scottish

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

Life

Clouston was the youngest of four sons of Robert Clouston (1786–1857) 3rd of Nisthouse, in the

Birsay Birsay () (Old Norse: ''Birgisherað'') is a parish in the north west corner of The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland. Almost all the land in the parish is devoted to agriculture: chiefly grassland used to rear beef cattle. There are various ancient ...

parish of

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

, and his wife Janet (née Smith). The Cloustons descend from Havard Gunnason (fl. 1090), Chief Counsellor to Haakon,

Earl of Orkney Earl of Orkney, historically Jarl of Orkney, is a title of nobility encompassing the archipelagoes of Orkney and Shetland, which comprise the Northern Isles of Scotland. Originally founded by Norse invaders, the status of the rulers of the Nort ...

, and later became landed gentry taking their name from their estate, Clouston. Clouston was educated at

Aberdeen Grammar School Aberdeen Grammar School is a state secondary school in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of thirteen secondary schools run by the Aberdeen City Council educational department. It is the oldest school in the city and one of the oldest grammar school ...

and 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 ...

. Clouston qualified M.D.(Edinburgh) with a thesis on the

nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes th ...

of the

lobster Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs ...

, supervised by

John Goodsir John Goodsir (20 March 1814 – 6 March 1867) was a Scottish anatomist and a pioneer in the formulation of cell theory. Early life Goodsir was born on 20 March 1814 in Anstruther, Fife, the son of Elizabeth Dunbar Taylor and John Goods ...

. His early interest in

insanity Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...

resulted in an apprenticeship with

David Skae David Skae MD, FRCSEd (5 July 1814 – 18 April 1873) was a Scottish physician who specialised in psychological medicine. He has been described as the founder of the Edinburgh School of Psychiatry and several of his assistants and pupils went ...

, the eminent Superintendent of the Royal Edinburgh Asylum. In 1863, Clouston was appointed superintendent of the Cumberland and Westmoreland Asylum (Garlands Hospital) in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

; and in 1873, in succession to Skae, Superintendent of the new

Royal Edinburgh Asylum Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

, which had been set up under new principles laid down by the then Commissioner to the Scottish Health Board, Sir

James Coxe Sir James Coxe MD FRSE (1811 – 1878) was a Scottish physician and expert on psychiatry. Controversially (though not at the time) he linked mental illness with a distancing from religion and with a parallel deterioration of the body. Rather more ...

. In 1879, after having lectured for some years in conjunction with the Professor of the Practice of Physic

Thomas Laycock Thomas Laycock (1786 – 7 November 1823) was an English soldier, explorer, and later businessman, who served in North America during the War of 1812, but is most famous for being the first European to travel overland through the interior of Ta ...

, Clouston was appointed as the first ever Lecturer on Mental Diseases in the University of Edinburgh, a post which he held in conjunction with his position at the Royal Edinburgh Asylum. Clouston became a celebrated lecturer with an international reputation for his exposition of the psychiatric disorders of adolescence. Clouston published extensively, beginning with his remarkable ''Clinical Lectures on Mental Diseases'' (1883), followed, much later, by his more popular work ''Unsoundness of Mind'' (1911). Another book aimed at the general public was entitled ''Morals and The Brain''; and he remained an unreconstructed believer in "masturbational insanity" and an uncompromising advocate of teetotalism in opposition to his exact contemporary, the psychiatrist

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 ...

. In 1888, Clouston served as President of the Medico-Psychological Association. In 1875, 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 Sir

Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, (5 April 182710 February 1912) was a British surgeon, medical scientist, experimental pathologist and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery and preventative medicine. Joseph Lister revolutionised the craft of su ...

John Hutton Balfour John Hutton Balfour (15 September 1808 – 11 February 1884) was a Scottish botanist. Balfour became a Professor of Botany, first at the University of Glasgow in 1841, moving to the University of Edinburgh and also becoming the 7th Regius Keepe ...

, Sir William Turner and

Alexander Crum Brown Alexander Crum Brown FRSE FRS (26 March 1838 – 28 October 1922) was a Scottish organic chemist. Alexander Crum Brown Road in Edinburgh's King's Buildings complex is named after him. Early life and education Crum Brown was born at 4 Bellev ...

. In 1894 he opened the Craig House extension to the Royal Edinburgh asylum on Easter

Craiglockhart Craiglockhart (; gd, Creag Longairt) is a suburb in the south west of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying between Colinton to the south, Morningside to the east Merchiston to the north east, and Longstone and Kingsknowe to the west. The Water of Leith i ...

Hill, which was renamed the Thomas Clouston Clinic in 1972. The buildings later became part of

Napier University , mottoeng = Without knowledge, everything is in vain , established = 1992 – granted University status 1964 – Napier Technical College , type = Public , academic_staff = 802 , administrative_staff = 562 , chancellor = Will Whitehorn , ...

. From 1902 to 1904 he was President of the

Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...

. Clouston retired in 1908 and was knighted in 1911. He is commemorated by a brass plaque on the eastern aspect of the North Transept of

St Magnus Cathedral St Magnus Cathedral dominates the skyline of Kirkwall, the main town of Orkney, a group of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. It is the most northerly cathedral in the United Kingdom, a fine example of Romanesque architecture built ...

in Kirkwall. His son was the author

Storer Clouston Joseph Storer Clouston OBE (23 May 1870, Cumberland, England – 23 June 1944, Orkney, Scotland) was a Scottish author and historian. Life and work J. S. Clouston, the son of psychiatrist Sir Thomas Clouston, was from an "old Orkney family", ...

. He Received the Freedom of the Burgh of

Kirkwall Kirkwall ( sco, Kirkwaa, gd, Bàgh na h-Eaglaise, nrn, Kirkavå) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name (''Church Bay''), which later changed to ''Kirkv ...

on 28 August 1908. Thomas Clouston memorial in Kirkwall Cathedral, Orkney

At the end of his life Clouston lived at 26 Heriot Row, an elegant and substantial Georgian townhouse in

Edinburgh's New Town The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of its original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture. Its best known street is Princes Street ...

. He died in Edinburgh on 19 April 1915. He is buried in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...

in Edinburgh with his wife Dame Harriet Secur Storer (1835-1917). The grave lies on the obscured southern terrace. His daughter, Augusta Maud Clouston CBE (1871-1960) lies to the side, with her husband Sir David Wallace (1862-1952).

Artistic recognition

His sketch portrait of 1884, by

William Brassey Hole William Brassey Hole RSA (7 November 1846 – 22 October 1917) was a Scottish artist, illustrator, etcher, and engraver, known for his industrial, historical and biblical scenes. Life Early life and training Hole was born in Salisbury, ...

, shown arm-in arm with

Douglas Argyll Robertson Douglas Moray Cooper Lamb Argyll Robertson FRSE, FRCSEd LLD (1837 – 3 January 1909) was a Scottish ophthalmologist and surgeon. He introduced physostigmine into ophthalmic practice and the Argyll Robertson pupil is named after him. He was p ...

, is held by the

Scottish National Portrait Gallery The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. The gallery holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Co ...

Publications

*''Clinical Lectures on Mental Diseases'' *''The Neuroses of Development'' *''The Hygiene of Mind'' *''Unsoundness of Mind''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clouston, Thomas 1840 births 1915 deaths Scottish psychiatrists 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Scottish knights People from Orkney People educated at Aberdeen Grammar School Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Heads of psychiatric hospitals Presidents of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh