George Stewart Beatson (22 May 1814 – 7 June 1874) was a Scottish physician who was

surgeon-general Surgeon general (: surgeons general) is a title used in several Commonwealth countries and most NATO nations to refer either to a senior military medical officer or to a senior uniformed physician commissioned by the government and entrusted with p ...

of the British Army and Honorary Physician to the Queen.

Biography

Beatson graduated in arts and medicine from 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 ...

, earning an M.D. in 1836. In 1838, Beatson joined the army medical department, and did duty on the staff in

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from 1839 to 1851. He was surgeon to the 51st Foot in the

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, and subsequently served as

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at Koulali Hospital in Turkey during the

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, where he rendered valuable services in the organisation of the hospitals at

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. After serving as deputy inspector-general in the

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and

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, he became surgeon-general in 1863, and was appointed principal medical officer of European troops in India, an appointment which he held for the customary five years. For the next three years he was in medical charge of the Royal Victoria Hospital,

Netley Netley, officially Netley Abbey, is a village on the south coast of Hampshire, England. It is situated to the south-east of the city of Southampton, and flanked on one side by the ruins of Netley Abbey and on the other by the Royal Victoria Co ...

; and in 1871 was appointed principal medical officer in India for the second time. He was appointed a

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in 1869. He died suddenly at Knollswood,

Shimla Shimla, also known as Simla ( the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of British India. After independence, the city ...

on 7 June 1874. Beatson, who was an Honorary Physician to the Queen, was accounted one of the ablest officers in the army medical service, but it is in the records of the department, at home and in India, rather than in professional literature, that his labours will be noticed.

Family

Beatson married Mary Jane Cochrane. They had four sons who had distinguished military careers and one daughter: *Lt.-Col. Dr Sir George Thomas Beatson (31 August 1848 – 16 February 1933) *Col. Charles Henry Beatson (27 March 1851 – 20 January 1938) *Col. Finlay Cochrane Beatson (2 August 1855 – 20 August 1933) *Col. William John Arnold Beatson (9 August 1857 – 31 December 1908) *Florence Frederica Hamilton Beatson (6 December 1859 – 17 February 1936) Beatson married secondly Elizabeth Adams Hoyes. They had one daughter: * Elizabeth Mary Stewart Beatson (September 1871 – 10 April 1958)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beatson, George Stewart 1814 births 1874 deaths 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Companions of the Order of the Bath Alumni of the University of Glasgow