Sir Alexander Russell Simpson FRCPE

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 Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

LLD (20 April 1835 – 6 April 1916) was a Scottish physician and Professor of Midwifery at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. He invented the axis-traction forceps also known as the obstetrics forceps which assisted in childbirth and reducing pain.

Life

Simpson was born in

Bathgate Bathgate ( or , ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston, Scotland, Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Linlithgow, Livingston, and West Calder. A number of villages fall under ...

on 30 April 1835, the son of Alexander Simpson (1797–1877), and nephew of

James Young Simpson Sir James Young Simpson, 1st Baronet (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 in humans and ...

. He was educated locally then studied medicine primarily at the

but also at

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

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, graduating with an MD in 1856 with the thesis ''"On the anatomy of the umbilical cord" .'' From 1865 to 1870 he operated a doctor's surgery in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

at 1 Blythswood Square. In 1870, on the death of his uncle, Professor James Young Simpson, he inherited his uncle's large townhouse at 52 Queen Street in Edinburgh and returned to that city, also taking over his uncle's position at the University of Edinburgh as Professor of Midwifery. In 1871 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) 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 establis ...

his proposer being

John Hutton Balfour John Hutton Balfour (15 September 1808 – 11 February 1884) was a Scottish botanist. Balfour became a Professor of Botany, first at the University of Glasgow in 1841, moving to the Edinburgh University, University of Edinburgh and also becomin ...

. He was President of the Medico-Chirurgical Society in 1889, 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 set the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by royal charter i ...

from 1891 to 1893 and President of the

Harveian Society of Edinburgh The Harveian Society of Edinburgh was founded in April 1782 by Andrew Duncan (physician, born 1744), Andrew Duncan. The Society holds an annual Festival in honour of the life and works of William Harvey, the physician who first correctly des ...

1911. He was a member of the United Free Church of Scotland and helped to run the Carrubbers Close Mission. He was a strong supporter of the

Temperance Movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

. He retired in 1905 and was knighted in 1906. He died in a road accident on 6 April 1916, and was buriedon 10 April in

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 Hi ...

in the south of Edinburgh. The grave lies in the main south-west section.

Publications

*''On the Head Flexion in Labour'' (1879) *''Contributions to Obstetrics and Gynaecology'' (1880) *''

Obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a su ...

'' in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition (1911)

Family

In 1872 he married Margaret Stewart Barbour (died 1911), sister of Professor Alexander Hugh Freeland Barbour. She was an author and wrote ''Awakings or Butterfly Chrysalids'' in 1892. Their children included

and

George Freeland Barbour Simpson George Freeland Barbour Simpson FRSE FRCPE FRCSE JP (21 September 1874 – 8 April 1958) was a 20th-century Scottish physician and gynaecologist. In 1913 he served as President of the Obstetrical Society of Edinburgh. Life He was born on 21 ...

(1875–1958). He was grandfather to the geographer Alexander Rudolph Barbour Simpson

(died 1977). He was paternal uncle to

Thomas Blantyre Simpson Thomas Blantyre Simpson (27 July 1892 – 18 October 1954) was a Scottish advocate and sheriff. Life He was born at 8 Bruntsfield Crescent in Edinburgh the son of Sir Robert Russell Simpson (1840-1923) and his wife, Helen Dymock Raleigh. He wa ...

FRSE QC.

Artistic recognition

His sketch portrait of 1884, by William Brassey Hole, is held by the

Scottish National Portrait Gallery National Galleries Scotland: Portrait is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. Portrait holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Collec ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Alexander Russell 1835 births 1916 deaths Scottish obstetricians People from Bathgate People associated with Edinburgh Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Office bearers of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh Members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh