Sir John McFadyean

FRSE 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 ...

LLD (1853 - 1941) was a Scottish veterinary surgeon and Professor of Veterinary Science. He was Principal of (and a Professor at) the

Royal Veterinary College , mottoeng = Confront disease at onset , established = (became a constituent part of University of London in 1949) , endowment = £10.5 million (2021) , budget = £106.0 million (20 ...

from 1894 to 1927. In 1906 he was the first person to isolate the Campylobacter species of bacteria, and due to this made major advances in public health.

Life

He was born in Barrachan in

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975 the area has f ...

on 17 June 1853, the son of Andrew McFadyean. He was educated at the Ewart Institute in Newton Stewart. For the first few years after leaving school he worked on his father's farm but in October 1874 he entered the

Dick Veterinary College The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, commonly referred to as the Dick Vet, is the veterinary school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and part of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine the head of which is Moira Whyt ...

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 ...

from whence he graduated in April 1876. He was appointed Lecturer in Anatomy at the College in the following academic year. He lodged at the college at 8 Clyde Street (now the site of Edinburgh's main bus station). In the 1880s his interests became fixed on

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...

and

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

and the subsequent sections of

comparative anatomy Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species). The science began in the classical era, continuing in t ...

were never completed. He became the first British veterinary bacteriologist and he retained that position throughout his life. In 1888 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

Andrew Douglas Maclagan Sir Andrew Douglas Maclagan PRSE FRCPE FRCSE FCS FRSSA (17 April 1812, in Ayr – 5 April 1900, in Edinburgh) was a Scottish surgeon, toxicologist and scholar of medical jurisprudence. He served as president of 5 learned societies: the Royal ...

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 ...

, Alexander Buchan, and Sir

German Sims Woodhead Sir German Sims Woodhead, KBE FRSE PRMS LLD (29 April 1855 – 29 December 1921) was an English pathologist. Life He was born at Woodland Mount, a large country house near Huddersfield, on 29 April 1855 the son of Joseph Woodhead, a newspap ...

. In 1892 he was appointed a Lecturer at the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He rose rapidly, becoming Principal of the college in 1894. He was knighted by 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 an ...

in 1905. He retired in 1927 and died in

on 1 February 1941. The McFadyean building at the Royal Veterinary College (which today houses the

London BioScience Innovation Centre London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

) was named in his honour.

Publications

* ''The Anatomy of the Horse'' (1884) (reprinted 1902) * ''The Osteology and Arthrology of Domesticated Animals'' (1887) In 1888 he originated the "Journal of Comparative Pathology and Therapeutics" which he edited until the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Family

In 1883 he married Mara Eleanor Walley (d.1929), eldest daughter of Thomas Walley (1842-1894), Principal of the

Dick Vet The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, commonly referred to as the Dick Vet, is the veterinary school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and part of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine the head of which is Moira Whyt ...

school in

from 1874 to 1894. His son, Sir

Andrew McFadyean Sir Andrew McFadyean (1887–1974) was a British diplomat, economist, Treasury official, businessman, Liberal politician, publicist and philosopher. He was born at Leith in Scotland on 23 April 1887 and died at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, Lon ...

was knighted by

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 Que ...

in 1925 for his work in the diplomatic service. His daughter Ethel McFadyean married Sir Stewart Stockman, brother of

Ralph Stockman Dr Ralph Stockman MD LLD (3 August 1861–27 February 1946) was a Scottish Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics at the University of Glasgow. He was an expert on iron deficiency anaemia. Life Stockman was born on 3 August 1861 at ...

.The County Families of the United Kingdom: Edward Walford

References

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

(2004-2013), Royal Veterinary College, London,UK (2013) {{DEFAULTSORT:McFadyean, John 1853 births 1941 deaths British veterinarians People associated with the Royal Veterinary College Alumni of the University of Edinburgh