George Lightbody Montgomery CBE

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". ...

TD (3 November 1905 – 5 February 1993) was a 20th-century Scottish pathologist and medical author, holding multiple senior positions in the Scottish medical profession.

Life

He was born on 3 November 1905 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 ...

the son of Jeanie Lightbody and John Montgomery. He attended

Hillhead Hillhead (, ) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland. Situated north of Kelvingrove Park and to the south of the River Kelvin, Hillhead is at the heart of Glasgow's fashionable West End, with Byres Road forming the western border of the area, the ...

High School then studied medicine at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

graduating with an

MB ChB A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

in 1928. In 1931 he began lecturing in clinical pathology at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, also gaining a doctorate there (PhD) in 1937. In 1937 he moved home to Glasgow as a lecturer in pathology and pathologist to several hospitals. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he reached the rank of

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

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 ...

mainly serving in the Middle and Far East, in particular

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. Returning to Glasgow after the war he was given a professorship, the St Mungo-Notman chair, at the University of Glasgow in 1948. In 1950 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 Norman Davidson, Robert Garry,

Alexander Murray Drennan Alexander Murray Drennan FRSE FRCPE (4 January 1884 – 29 February 1984) was a Scottish pathologist. In the First World War, he promoted the widespread use of Edinburgh University Solution (sold under the brand name of Eusol). A keen yachts ...

and Charles Wynford Parsons. In 1954 he moved to 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 ...

and remained there until his retirement in 1971. In 1956 he was 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 ...

and served as President in 1975. In 1958 he 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 died in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 5 February 1993.

Positions of Note

*Chairman of the Scottish Health Services Council 1954 - 1959 *Dean of the Faculty of Medicine 1955-1957 *Chairman of the Edinburgh Postgraduate Board of Medicine 1966-1970 *Vice President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1962-1965 *Vice President of the Royal College of Pathologists *President of the

1975

Publications

*''Pathology for Students of Dentistry'' (1953) *''Textbook of Pathology'' (1965)

Family

In 1933 he married Margaret Forbes. They had one daughter and one son.

References

1905 births 1993 deaths Medical doctors from Glasgow Scottish pathologists Alumni of the University of Glasgow Academics of the University of Glasgow Academics of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh People educated at Hillhead High School Royal Army Medical Corps officers Military personnel from Glasgow British Army personnel of World War II Office bearers of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh Members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh Commanders_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire {{Scotland-med-bio-stub