Arthur John Jex-Blake (31 July 1873 – 16 August 1957) was a British physician, specializing in heart and lung diseases.

Biography

After education at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

, Arthur John Jex-Blake matriculated at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

, where he graduated BA in 1894, MA in 1901, BM and BCh in 1901, and DM in 1913. He entered as a University scholar at

St George's Hospital Medical School St George's, University of London (SGUL), legally the St George's Hospital Medical School, was a public medical school from 1733 to 2024 in South London, England. It merged with City, University of London to form City St George's, University of ...

, where he received his medical education. In 1902 the University of Oxford awarded him a Radcliffe travelling fellowship, enabling him to visit Vienna, Copenhagen, and Baltimore. He was appointed to the staff of the

Victoria Hospital for Children The Victoria Hospital for Children, which later merged into St George's Hospital, was a hospital in Tite Street, London. History The hospital was established at Gough House in Tite Street in October 1866. Gough House had been built c1710 by John ...

and then became an assistant physician to

St George's Hospital St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It shares its main hospital site i ...

and to the

Royal Brompton Hospital Royal Brompton Hospital is the largest specialist heart and lung medical centre in the United Kingdom. It is managed by Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. History Consumption in the 19th century In the 19th century, consumption was a co ...

. He qualified MRCP in 1905 and was elected FRCP in 1912. In 1913 he delivered the

Goulstonian Lecture The Goulstonian Lectures are an annual lecture series given on behalf of the Royal College of Physicians in London. They began in 1639. The lectures are named for Theodore Goulston (or Gulston, died 1632), who founded them with a bequest. By his ...

s. During WWI he served as a major 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 ...

in France and upon his return was appointed a full physician at St George's Hospital. In 1920 he married, resigned all of his London appointments, and moved with his bride to Kenya, where he lived until his death in 1957.

Family

Arthur John Jex-Blake was a son of Rev. Thomas William Jex-Blake, D.D. headmaster of

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

from 1874 to 1887 and a nephew of the famous physician and feminist

Sophia Jex-Blake Sophia Louisa Jex-Blake (21 January 1840 – 7 January 1912) was an English physician, teacher, and feminism, feminist. She led the campaign to secure women access to a university education, when she began studying medicine at the Universit ...

. His siblings included

Katharine Jex-Blake Katharine Jex-Blake (18 November 1860 – 26 March 1951), was an English people, English classical scholar, and the eighth Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge. Biography Early life Katharine Jex-Blake was born in 1860 at Rugby School, one of n ...

, Mistress of

Girton College Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the univ ...

from 1916 to 1922; Henrietta Jex-Blake, principal of

Lady Margaret Hall Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located on a bank of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formally known under ...

from 1909 to 1921; and

Bertha Jex-Blake Bertha is a female Germanic name, from Old High German ''berhta'' meaning "bright one". It was usually a short form of Anglo Saxon names ''Beorhtgifu'' meaning "bright gift" or ''Beorhtwynn'' meaning "bright joy". The name occurs as a theonym, s ...

, physician who studied at the Edinburgh College of Medicine for women established by her aunt. Bertha drowned near

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...

in 1915. On 5 August 1920 in

Wilton, Wiltshire Wilton is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England. Lying about west of the city of Salisbury, and until 1889 the county town of Wiltshire, it has a rich heritage dating back to the Anglo-Saxons. The parish had ...

, A. J. Jex-Blake married Lady Muriel Katherine Herbert (1883–1951), daughter of

Sidney Herbert, 14th Earl of Pembroke Sidney Herbert, 14th Earl of Pembroke, 11th Earl of Montgomery, (20 February 1853 – 30 March 1913), styled The Honourable Sidney Herbert between 1861 and 1895, was a British politician and peer. Background and education Herbert was born at ...

. The couple met in Boulogne in WWI when he was a doctor and she was a volunteer nurse. The Jex-Blakes had one daughter, Daphne Marian Jex-Blake (1923–1970); she married Richard Mason.

Selected publications

* * *with W. James Wilson: In this paper the case of infection in patient D.H. with ''B. aertrycke'' would in current medical terminology be called

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

due to infection by ''

Salmonella enterica ''Salmonella enterica'' (formerly ''Salmonella choleraesuis'') is a rod-shaped, flagellate, facultative anaerobic, Gram-negative bacterium and a species of the genus ''Salmonella''. It is divided into six subspecies, arizonae (IIIa), diarizonae ...

'' serotype Typhi; the case of infection in patient J.A.M. would be called

paratyphoid fever Paratyphoid fever, also known simply as paratyphoid, is a bacterial infection caused by one of three types of '' Salmonella enterica''. Symptoms usually begin 6–30 days after exposure and are the same as those of typhoid fever. Often, a gradu ...

due to infection by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Paratyphi B. The name of the bacterial species was changed. In 1928 medical experts were not entirely sure that ''B. aertrycke'' consisted of ''Salmonella''. * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jex-Blake, Arthur John 1873 births 1957 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford British cardiologists British pulmonologists Alumni of St George's, University of London Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Physicians of St George's Hospital Royal Army Medical Corps officers