John Brian Christopherson

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(30 April 1868 – 21 July 1955), was a British

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and a pioneer of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

. The son of Canon Brian Christopherson, Christopherson was born in Batley, Yorkshire,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, in 1868. He went to the

Royal Grammar School, Newcastle The Royal Grammar School (RGS), Newcastle upon Tyne, is a coeducational private day school for pupils aged between 7 and 18 years. Founded in 1525 by Thomas Horsley, the Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne, it received royal foundation by Queen Eliz ...

Clifton College Clifton College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike mo ...

and studied at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

. He received his final medical training at

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by ...

. He received his

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery 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 trad ...

in 1893 and joined the

Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Roya ...

. Between 1896 and 1902 he worked at the

Albert Dock Seamen's Hospital The Albert Dock Seamen's Hospital was a hospital provided by the Seamen's Hospital Society for the care of ex-members of the Merchant navy, the fishing fleets and their dependents. It was opened in 1890 as a branch of the Dreadnought Seamen's ...

. In 1902 first he became physician to the Governor-General of the Sudan. Later, in 1904, he became Director of Medical Services to the Sudan Government. He resigned from that position in 1909 and became Director of the Civil Hospitals at

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

and

Omdurman Omdurman () is a major city in Sudan. It is the second most populous city in the country, located in the State of Khartoum. Omdurman lies on the west bank of the River Nile, opposite and northwest of the capital city of Khartoum. The city acts ...

. Christopherson served with the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

in Serbia during

World War I 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 ...

and was taken prisoner of war by the Austrian army. With the help of

Rudolf Carl von Slatin Major-General Rudolf Anton Carl Freiherr von Slatin, Geh. Rat, (7 June 1857, in Ober Sankt Veit, Hietzing, Vienna – 4 October 1932, in Vienna) was an Anglo- Austrian soldier and administrator in Sudan. Early life Rudolf Carl Slatin wa ...

, who he knew from his time in Khartoum, Christopherson was able to secure his own release. He went to France and served there as secretary to the War Office Commission on Medical Establishments in the British Expeditionary Force in the ongoing World War I. After returning to the United Kingdom he worked in a

bilharzia Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever is a neglected tropical disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. It affects both humans and animals. It affects the urinary tract or the intestines ...

clinic of the

Ministry of Pensions The Ministry of Pensions was a British government ministry responsible for the administration and delivery of pensions. It was headed by the Minister of Pensions (Britain), Minister of Pensions. History In September 1916, a United Kingdom cabin ...

. For his services during the war, he was invested as a member of the

Order of the Nile The Order of the Nile (''Kiladat El Nil'') was established in 1915 and was one of the Kingdom of Egypt's principal orders until the monarchy was abolished in 1953. It was then reconstituted as the Republic of Egypt's highest state honor. Sulta ...

and the

Order of St. Sava The Order of St. Sava () is an ecclesiastic decoration conferred by the Serbian Orthodox Church and a dynastic order presented by the house of Karađorđević. It was previously a state order awarded by both the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom ...

. In 1919, for his work in the Sudan, he was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. Christopherson published his most influential discovery in 1918. He discovered that

antimony potassium tartrate Antimony potassium tartrate, also known as potassium antimonyl tartrate, potassium antimontarterate, or tartar emetic, has the formula K2Sb2(C4H2O6)2. The compound has long been known as a powerful emetic, and was used in the treatment of schistoso ...

was an effective drug in the treatment of

. Although it had severe side effects, this treatment, which involved the use of antimony derivates, was the state of the art until the 1950s. The next generation of drugs also contained antimony and were in use until the 1970s. He was President of the tropical diseases section of the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society based at 1 Wimpole Street, London, UK. It is a registered charity, with admission through membership. Its Chief Executive is Michele Acton. History The Royal Society of Medicine (R ...

in 1929–1930 and a member of the .

Personal life

Christopherson married Joyce Ormerod in 1912. She was a daughter of J. A. Ormerod, FRCP.

References

;Notes ;Sources * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Christopherson, John Brian 1868 births 1955 deaths Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War I English surgeons Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Clifton College People educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne Alumni of the Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital