Major General William Burney Bannerman CSI FRSE (6 July 1858 – 3 February 1924) was a 19th and 20th century high-ranking Scottish

military surgeon ''Military Medicine'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering all aspects of medicine in military settings. It is published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States. It was est ...

who worked in the Indian Medical Service. As director of the plague research laboratory, he conducted experiments on plague vaccines along with

Waldemar Haffkine Waldemar Mordechai Wolff Haffkine ( uk, Володимир Мордехай-Вольф Хавкін; russian: Мордехай-Вольф Хавкин; 15 March 1860 Odessa – 26 October 1930 Lausanne) was a Ukrainian-French bacteriologist kno ...

. He was one of the first to use

Henry Littlejohn Sir Henry Duncan Littlejohn MD LLD FRCSE (8 May 1826 – 30 September 1914) was a Scottish surgeon, forensic scientist and public health official. He served for 46 years as Edinburgh's first Medical Officer of Health, during which time he brough ...

's analytical techniques on a large scale, demonstrating the value of inoculation.

Life

He was born at 7 Clarendon Crescent in

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

on 6 July 1858, the son of Rev James Bannerman and David Anne Douglas (sic), daughter of David Douglas, Lord Reston. He was educated at

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, is now part of the Senior School. The Junior School is located on Arboretum Ro ...

then 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 a

MB ChB Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

in 1881. Joining the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

as part of the

Indian Medical Service The Indian Medical Service (IMS) was a military medical service in British India, which also had some civilian functions. It served during the two World Wars, and remained in existence until the independence of India in 1947. Many of its officer ...

he served as a surgeon from 1883. Training at

Netley Netley, officially referred to as Netley Abbey, is a village on the south coast of Hampshire, England. It is situated to the south-east of the city of Southampton, and flanked on one side by the ruins of Netley Abbey and on the other by the R ...

, he arrived at

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

in May 1884 initially posted at Secunderabad. After some training in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Baluchistan to control a cholera epidemic there. In 1886 he contracted

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

and went to Madras to recover. He was then posted to

Tiruchirapalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

(mentioned as Trichinopoli under the colonial bastardisation of the name). In November 1886 he was sent to Burma on active duty first in Mandalay then in Pyintha. From March to October 1888 he served with the Upper Burma Operational Force. Falling ill again, he was sent to England for a year to recover. He received his doctorate (MD) entitled 'On the nature of malaria and its prophylaxsis' in 1889 and returned to India in November 1889. Continuing in the army, he became district surgeon to the

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ke ...

district. He returned to the University of Edinburgh 1895/6 to take a course on public health from Henry Harvey Littlejohn. Returning to India in 1896 early in 1898 he undertook along with

, what would now be a highly controversial experiment in the village of Undhera,

Vadodara District Vadodara District also known as Baroda District is a district in the eastern part of the state of Gujarat in western India. The city of Vadodara (Baroda), in the western part of the district, is the administrative headquarters. Vadodara Distric ...

, where there was a plague outbreak. On an arbitrary selection basis he inoculated exactly half of the village and (using Littlejohn principles) observed the results – obtaining an accurate (if perhaps inhumane) result of the effectiveness of the vaccine (proving it 90% effective). In April 1899 he was made director of the Plague Research Laboratory in Madras. He was raised to lieutenant colonel in 1903. In 1904 he became director of the Bombay Bacteriological Laboratory and in 1910 was raised to brevet colonel. In May 1911 he became surgeon general for the Madras district. In 1913 he was created honorary physician to

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

(in India). In 1902 he elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Sir William Turner,

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 Belle ...

, Sir Thomas Richard Fraser and Charles Hunter Stewart. He served as the Society's Vice-President from 1921 to 1924. King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

created him a Companion of the

Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander ( GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointmen ...

(CSI) in 1911. He remained in Madras for the duration of 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 ...

but lost most of his senior and experienced officers who were sent on medical duties elsewhere. He retired to

in 1918 and spent much time linked to the

United Free Church of Scotland The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; gd, An Eaglais Shaor Aonaichte, sco, The Unitit Free Kirk o Scotland) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and ...

where he was an elder and Secretary of the Foreign Mission Committee. His church St George's United Free, was the impressive domed church on the west side of

Charlotte Square 300px, Robert Adam's palace-fronted north side Charlotte Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The square is located at the west end of George Street and was intend ...

. He was Secretary of the church's Foreign Mission Committee. He died at home on 3 February 1924. He is buried with his parents in the

Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hil ...

in south Edinburgh. The grave lies in the north-west section under a large tree.

Publications

* Preface to ''Concerning Animals and Other Matters'' *''Serum Therapy of Plague in India'' *''Production of Alkali by Plague Bacillus in Liquid Media'' *''Scientific Memoirs of Government in India''

Family

In 1889 he married Helen Brodie Cowan Watson (1862–1946), daughter of Robert Boog Watson. She is remembered as Helen Bannerman, author of the "Little Sambo" children's books.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bannerman, William Burney 1858 births 1924 deaths Medical doctors from Edinburgh People educated at Edinburgh Academy Alumni of the University of Edinburgh British Indian Army generals 19th-century Scottish medical doctors 20th-century Scottish medical doctors Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Burials at the Grange Cemetery Indian Medical Service officers British public health doctors Military personnel from Edinburgh Medical doctors in British India