Sir William Tennant Gairdner (8 November 1824 – 28 June 1907) was a Scottish Professor of Medicine in the
University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
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, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
.
Early life
William Tennant Gardiner was born 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 ...
, the son of physician
John Gairdner and his wife, Susanna Tennant.
[''Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950''] He was the elder brother of the historian
James Gairdner
James Gairdner (22 March 1828 – 4 November 1912) was a British historian. He specialised in 15th-century and early Tudor history, and among other tasks edited the '' Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII'' series.
Son of John Gairdn ...
. He was educated at the
Edinburgh Institution and then in his father's profession 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 as M.D. in 1845.
Immediately after his graduation he went to Rome for six months.
He was taught surgery by
Prof Monro and Dr
Robert Halliday Gunning
Robert Halliday Gunning FRSE PRPSE FSA LLD (12 December 1818 – 22 March 1900) was a Scottish surgeon, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He did much to improve social conditions in Brazil and also became rich there. He endowed numerous prizes ...
.
Medical career
In 1850 he was elected a Fellow 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 ...
; and a year or two later was appointed physician and pathologist to
the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE). During his time at the RIE he was a lecturer at the
Edinburgh Extramural School of Medicine
Extramural medical education in Edinburgh began over 200 years before the university medical faculty was founded in 1726 and extramural teaching continued thereafter for a further 200 years. Extramural is academic education which is conducted o ...
. In 1862 he accepted an invitation to take the
professorship of medicine in the
University of Glasgow
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, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
, together with the post of physician to the
Western Infirmary
The Western Infirmary was a teaching hospital situated in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland, that was managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. It was opened in 1874 and closed in 2015.
History
After the University of Glasgow moved from the cit ...
. In the following year much attention was directed in Glasgow to the insanitary state of the city; and Dr. Gairdner, at considerable pecuniary sacrifice, undertook the duties of medical officer of health, which he discharged for ten years in such a manner as brought about a total change in the conditions which he found existing. From this time forward he devoted himself to the duties of his professorship and to his increasing consulting practice.
The professor of medicine in a University like that of Glasgow is expected, almost as a matter of course, to become an important contributor to the advancement of the science which he teaches, and his duty Gairdner abundantly fulfilled. He did excellent work in this direction both as a sanitarian, as an original investigator of diseases of the heart, and in opposition to the excessive alcoholic stimulation of fevers, which had been rendered fashionable for a time by the teaching of Dr. Todd. His personal influence over successive generations of students was, however, greatly more remarkable and more important than his purely medical achievements.
In 1893, he was elected 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 ...
and a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...
The same year he was appointed honorary physician in ordinary in Scotland to Queen Victoria, receiving the corresponding appointment on the accession of King
Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...
. He was made Knight Commander of the
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...
in 1898, and in 1890 resigned his professorship and took up his residence in Edinburgh.
He was president of the
British Medical Association in 1888, representative of the University of Glasgow in the
General Medical Council for ten years from 1893 to 1903, and among other distinctions received the degree of
LL.D.
Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...
Edin. in 1883 and that of
M.D.
Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...
Dublin (''honoris causa''), with the honorary Fellowship of the
Royal College of Physicians of Ireland
The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI), ( ga, Coláiste Ríoga Lianna na hÉireann) is an Irish professional body dedicated to improving the practice of general medicine and related medical specialities, chiefly through the accredit ...
, in 1887.
Works
His principal works were ''Clinical Medicine'', 1862; ''Public Health in Relation to Air and Water'', 1862; ''On Some Modern Aspects of Insanity'', ''Lectures to Practitioners'' (jointly with Dr. J. Coats), 1868; ''The Physician as Naturalist'', 1889; and ''The Three Things that Abide'', 1903.
At the time of his death it was stated that "his book ''The Physician as Naturalist'', if not written with any idea of self-portraiture, at least contains a large amount of self-revelation; while his last publication, ''The Three Things that Abide'', is made up of lay sermons on faith, hope, and love, of no common interest and beauty."
Personal life
In 1870 he married Miss Helena Bridget Wright, of Norwich, Norfolk who survived him. He had four sons (
William Henry Temple, Hugh Montgomerie, Eric Dalrymple, Anthony Philip) and three daughters (Helen Christian, Ailsa Bridget, Dorothea).
[Scottish 1891 census. Parish: Glasgow Govan; ED: 121; Page: 4; Line: 1; Roll: CSSCT1891_280; Year: 1891.] Dr.
Douglas Montagu Temple Gairdner was his grandson.
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gairdner, William Tennant, Sir
1824 births
1907 deaths
Medical doctors from Edinburgh
People educated at Stewart's Melville College
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Fellows of the Royal Society
Scottish medical writers
Academics of the University of Glasgow
Place of death missing
Physicians-in-Ordinary
Presidents of the British Medical Association
Presidents of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh