William Rutherford (20 April 1839, Ancrum Craig,

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...

– 21 February 1899, 14 Douglas Crescent, Edinburgh) was a Scottish physician and physiologist. For 25 years he was professor of physiology 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 ...

, and contributed to the development of experimental physiology. He was Fullerian Professor of Physiology and Comparative Anatomy from 1872 to 1875.

Life

Rutherford was born at Ancrum Craig Farm near

Ancrum Ancrum ( gd, Alan Crom) is a village in the Scottish Borders, Borders area of Scotland, 5 km north west of Jedburgh. The village — which currently has a population of around 300 — is situated just off the A68 road, A68 trunk road on the ...

in Roxburghshire, the son of Elizabeth (née Bunyan) Thomas Rutherford, a farmer and landowner. He was educated at

Jedburgh Jedburgh (; gd, Deadard; sco, Jeddart or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the historic county of Roxburghshire, the name of which was randomly chosen for Operation Jedburgh in su ...

Grammar School then studied medicine at the

, gaining his doctorate (MD) in 1863. After studying in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, he became assistant to

John Hughes Bennett John Hughes Bennett PRCPE FRSE (31 August 1812 – 25 September 1875) was an English physician, physiologist and pathologist. His main contribution to medicine has been the first description of leukemia as a blood disorder (1845). The first pe ...

, professor of physiology at the University of Edinburgh. After the Edinburgh anatomist

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 ...

told Rutherford about the new experimental physiology in Germany, William Rutherford and the ophthalmologist Douglas Argyll Robertson became the first in the United Kingdom to introduce the new experimental apparatus of

Hermann von Helmholtz Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (31 August 1821 – 8 September 1894) was a German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields, particularly hydrodynamic stability. The Helmholtz Association, ...

Emil du Bois-Reymond Emil Heinrich du Bois-Reymond (7 November 181826 December 1896) was a German physician and physiologist, the co-discoverer of nerve action potential, and the developer of experimental electrophysiology. Life Du Bois-Reymond was born in Berlin a ...

and

Carl Ludwig Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig (; 29 December 1816 – 23 April 1895) was a German physician and physiologist. His work as both a researcher and teacher had a major influence on the understanding, methods and apparatus used in almost all branches ...

.. In 1869 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 proposer being

. In 1869 Rutherford became assistant professor of physiology at

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. In 1871 he was appointed professor of physiology at the

Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

. In 1874 he returned to the University of Edinburgh to succeed Bennett as professor of physiology. Rutherford lectured at the University of Edinburgh when

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

studied medicine there. Like his fictional character

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

, who was based on a real person, Conan Doyle's

Professor Challenger George Edward Challenger is a fictional character in a series of fantasy and science fiction stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Unlike Conan Doyle's self-controlled, analytical character, Sherlock Holmes, Professor Challenger is an aggressive, ...

was based in part on Rutherford. From 1881 his laboratory assistant was Sutherland Simpson. He died 21 February 1899 at 14 Douglas Crescent, Edinburgh. He was not married and had no children, so he was buried with his parents in Ancrum parish churchyard. His chair at the University was filled by Prof

Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer FRS FRSE FRCP LLD (2 June 1850 – 29 March 1935) was an English physiologist. He is regarded as a founder of endocrinology: in 1894 he discovered and demonstrated the existence of adrenaline together with G ...

Works

* ''On the morbid appearances met with in the brains of thirty insane persons'', 1869 * ''Influence of the vagus upon the vascular system'', 1869 * ''Introductory lecture to the course of physiology in Kings College, London, 1869'', 1869 * ''An introduction to the study of medicine : a lecture delivered at the opening of the medical session of 1871–72, in King's College, London'', 1871 * ''The present aspects of physiology; an introductory lecture'', 1874 * ''Outlines of practical histology : being the notes of the Histological Section of the Class of Practical Physiology held in the University of Edinburgh'', 1875 * ''The sense of hearing: a lecture'', 1886 * ''Syllabus of lectures on physiology'', 1887 * ''A General account of histological methods'', 1887 * ''On the conditions that influence the attainment of the physiological ideal : introductory lecture, 14 October 1890'', 1890 * ''The tercentenary of the compound microscope; an inaugural address delivered 7 November 1890, to the Scottish Microscopical Society'', 1891 * ''On the method of studying a natural science such as physiology : an introductory lecture, delivered 9 October 1894'', 1894

Notes

References

External links

Notes and Laboratory records of Professor William Rutherford (1839–1899), and Notes from Lectures given by Rutherford and taken down by others
held at the Edinburgh University Library, Special Collections Division * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rutherford, William 1839 births 1899 deaths 19th-century Scottish medical doctors People from the Scottish Borders Scottish physiologists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Edinburgh Academics of King's College London Fullerian Professors of Physiology Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh