James Young Simpson
Sir James Young Simpson, 1st Baronet, FRSE FRCPE FSA Scot (7 June 1811 – 6 May 1870), was a Scottish obstetrician and a significant figure in the history of medicine. He was the first physician to demonstrate the anaesthetic properties of chloroform on humans and helped to popularise its use in medicine.
Sir James Young Simpson Bt FRCPE FSA Scot | |
|---|---|
James Simpson | |
| Born | 7 June 1811 Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland |
| Died | 6 May 1870 (aged 58) Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
| Known for | Use of chloroform as anaesthetic in childbirth, design of obstetric forceps |
| Spouse |
Janet Grindlay (m. 1839) |
| Children | 1. Margaret Grindlay Simpson
2. Sir Walter Grindlay Simpson, 2nd Baronet And 7 others |
| Notes | |
James Young Simpson (great nephew) | |
Simpson's intellectual interests ranged from archaeology to an almost taboo subject at the time: hermaphroditism. He was an early advocate of the use of midwives in the hospital environment. Many prominent women also consulted him for their gynaecological problems. Simpson wrote Homœopathy, its Tenets and Tendencies refuting the ideas put forward by Hahnemann.
His services as an early founder of gynaecology and proponent of hospital reform were rewarded with a knighthood and by 1847 he had been appointed as physician to the Queen in Scotland.
Simpson was a close friend of Sir David Brewster, and was present at his deathbed. His contribution to the understanding of the anaesthetic properties of chloroform had a major impact on surgery.