Sir Edwin Cooper Perry,
GCVO (1856-1938) was a
physician and medical administrator who became
Vice-Chancellor of the
University of London. He played a significant part in the foundation of the
College of Nursing
Nurse education consists of the theoretical and practical training provided to nurses with the purpose to prepare them for their duties as nursing care professionals. This education is provided to student nurses by experienced nurses and other med ...
, now the
Royal College of Nursing, in 1916 and later the
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
[H. L. Eason, ''Perry, Sir (Edwin) Cooper (1856–1938)'', rev. Patrick Wallis, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2006 accessed 5 August 2012](_blank)
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Early life
He was born in Darlaston, West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England on 10 September 1856, the only son of Edwin Cresswell Perry who became a schoolteacher in Castle Bromwich in 1859 and then vicar of Seighford
Seighford ( ) is a village and civil parish about west of Stafford in Staffordshire, England. The population of this civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,793. The ford across a small stream is the origin of the village's toponym. The village ...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
, in 1861, where Perry spent his early years.
Education
He was initially educated by his father and then won a scholarship to Eton
Career
In 1883 he was assistant lecturer in medicine at King's and assistant demonstrator of anatomy at Cambridge medical school. In 1885 he joined the London Hospital as house surgeon and qualified MRCS. In 1887 he became assistant physician, demonstrator of anatomy, and then physician at Guy's Hospital and a year later dean of Guy's medical school. In 1889 he helped establish a dental school at Guy's. He was superintendent at Guy's from 1897-1920. He was awarded GCVO in 1935 in recognition of services to the Prince of Wales's Hospital Fund. Along with his colleague, Sir Alfred Fripp
Sir Alfred Downing Fripp (12 September 1865 – 25 February 1930) was born in Blandford Forum, in 1865. He was surgeon to both King Edward VII and King George V.
Early life
Fripp was the son of the artist Alfred Downing Fripp and Eliza Ban ...
, he had been knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
in 1903 for service to the Reform Committee of the Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...
- including the setting-up of the Royal Army Medical College at Millbank
Millbank is an area of central London in the City of Westminster. Millbank is located by the River Thames, east of Pimlico and south of Westminster. Millbank is known as the location of major government offices, Burberry headquarters, the Millb ...
, London. From 1900-1905 he was a member of the Senate of the University of London representing of the faculty of medicine. He served as vice-chancellor of the university 1917-1919 and from 1920-1926 as principal.
Personal life
In 1890 he married Caroline Matilda MacManus of Kiltimagh, Ireland and they had one daughter. His wife died in 1935 and Perry on 5 December 1938 at his home in Worthing, Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
. After cremation his ashes were buried at the church in his old home at Seighford. Of all Perry's great talents his most important contributions were as an outstanding administrator.
See also
* List of Vice-Chancellors of the University of London
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Cooper
1856 births
1938 deaths
20th-century English medical doctors
Vice-Chancellors of the University of London
Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
People educated at Eton College
Alumni of King's College, Cambridge
Physicians of Guy's Hospital