Arthur Henry Havens Sinclair by Stephen C Dickson

Arthur Henry Havens Sinclair (20 February 1868 – 30 Jun 1962) was a Scottish ophthalmologist. He was a pioneer of quantitative

perimetry A visual field test is an eye examination that can detect dysfunction in central and peripheral vision which may be caused by various medical conditions such as glaucoma, stroke, pituitary disease, brain tumours or other neurological deficits. V ...

, introducing this technique of visual field testing to Britain. Sinclair also introduced the operation of intracapsular extraction of the lens for cataract into the UK. He was President of the Ophthalmological Society of the United Kingdom from 1931 to 1933 and was President of the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...

from 1933 to 1935. He was Surgeon-Oculist to

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

in Scotland.

Early life

Sinclair was born at Kenmore in

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

on 20 February 1868, the youngest son of Rev Alan Sinclair, minister of the Free Church of Kenmore, and his wife Sarah (née Fraser). He studied medicine 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 ...

graduating MB CM in 1893 and went on to graduate with the postgraduate degree of MD in 1899.

Career

Having decided to specialise in ophthalmology at an early stage, he gained experience in that speciality by visiting clinics in London, Utrecht and Copenhagen. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1899. Also in 1899 he was appointed clinical assistant in ophthalmology at the

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) was established in 1729, and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on, the Empire."In Com ...

(RIE) under Sir George Berry from whom he learned the fundamentals of clinical perimetry. Berry maintained links with the ophthalmic surgeons in Copenhagen who had developed the technique and Sinclair was able to develop this further. In 1905 he was made Assistant Ophthalmic Surgeon in the RIE and Ophthalmic Surgeon to

Leith Hospital Leith Hospital was situated on Mill Lane in Leith, Edinburgh, and was a general hospital with adult medical and surgical wards, paediatric medical and surgical wards, a casualty department and a wide range of out-patient services. It closed in 1 ...

and to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh. In the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

with the Salonika Expeditionary Force. From 1922 to 1932 he was Surgeon in charge of wards at the RIE. His main contributions to ophthalmology were the introduction of quantitative

, a method for measuring the visual fields. he described the use of this technique in the diagnosis of

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can lead to damage of the optic nerve. The optic nerve transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma may cause vision loss if left untreated. It has been called the "silent thief of ...

. Sinclair introduced the operation of intracapsular extraction of the lens for

cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens (anatomy), lens of the eye that leads to a visual impairment, decrease in vision of the eye. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colours, blurry or ...

. His series of 257 cases published in 1932 was regarded as showing the best results published to that time. After retiring he became chairman of the W H Ross Foundation for the Study of the Prevention of Blindness. It was on Sinclair's suggestion the fund was established. Among the advances which the Foundation made was the successful treatment of infections of the cornea in coal miners which greatly reduced the resulting blindness in that occupational group.

Honours and awards

In 1927 he became President of the Ophthalmologigical Section of the British Medical Association and was elected a member of the

Aesculapian Club The Aesculapian Club of Edinburgh is one of the oldest medical dining clubs in the world. It was founded in April 1773 by Dr. Andrew Duncan. Membership of the club is limited to 11 Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and ...

. He was also elected a member 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 ...

. In 1938 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 proposers were

Francis Albert Eley Crew Francis Albert Eley Crew (2 March 1886 – 26 May 1973) was an English animal geneticist. He was a pioneer in his field leading to the University of Edinburgh’s place as a world leader in the science of animal genetics. He was the first Dire ...

Orlando Charnock Bradley Orlando Charnock Bradley FRSE (8 May 1871 – 21 November 1937) was a British veterinarian and first President of the National Veterinary Medical Association. He is described as one of the foremost veterinarians of the 20th century. Life He was ...

, Sir Harold Stiles, James Watt and

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

. Sinclair was a member of the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland, is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a pers ...

, the Queen's Bodyguard for Scotland. He was President of the Ophthalmological Society of the United Kingdom from 1931 to 1933 and was

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

from 1933 to 1935. He was Surgeon-Oculist to

in Scotland. from 1929

Death

He died at home in Edinburgh on 30 June 1962. He was buried in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...

in western Edinburgh. The grave lies at the western end of the south-west section within the first north extension. He is also memorialised on his parents' grave in Kenmore.

Publications

*''The Pathology of the Idiopathic Detachment of the Retina'' (1901) *''The Early Diagnosis of

Glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can lead to damage of the optic nerve. The optic nerve transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma may cause vision loss if left untreated. It has been called the "silent thief of ...

'' *''Developmental

Aphasia Aphasia, also known as dysphasia, is an impairment in a person's ability to comprehend or formulate language because of dysfunction in specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine, but aph ...

'' also known as Congenital Word-Blindness or

Dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...

(1948)

Family

In 1898 he married Mabel Kennedy Tod (1871–1947). They had one son and one daughter. Prior to the

he lived at 5 Walker Street in Edinburgh's West End. Between the wars he lived at 22 Rothesay Terrace, a spacious two-level apartment in Edinburgh's West End. Latterly he lived in

Charlotte Square file:Charlotte Square - geograph.org.uk - 105918.jpg, 300px, Robert Adam's palace-fronted north side Charlotte Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site ...

, the elegant Adam-designed square in Edinburgh's New Town.Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1962

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, Arthur Henry Havens 1868 births 1962 deaths People from Perthshire Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Medical School Scottish ophthalmologists Presidents of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Burials at the Dean Cemetery Members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh