John Crofton
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Sir John Wenman Crofton (27 March 1912 – 3 November 2009) was a pioneer in the treatment of
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
, who also spent the better part of his life raising awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco.


Early life and family

Crofton was born in Dublin, Ireland to a well-off
Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...
family. His father was physician William Mervyn Crofton, who conducted medical research at the Royal University in Dublin, wrote books on
endocrinology Endocrinology (from ''endocrine system, endocrine'' + ''wikt:-logy#Suffix, -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the ...
and
virology Virology is the Scientific method, scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host (biology), ...
, and had flourishing private medical practices both in Dublin and London. His mother was Mary Josephine Abbott, known as Molly. Crofton was sent to prep school at Baymount, in the suburbs of Dublin away from "
The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
", and then in 1925 to
Tonbridge School Tonbridge School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for boys aged 13–18) in Tonbridge, Kent, England, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde (sometimes spelt Judd). It is a member of the Eton Group and has clo ...
in Kent.


Education

In 1930 Crofton matriculated at
Sidney Sussex College Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...
in the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
, eventually earning an MB in 1937 and MD in 1947. During his studies he was a keen rock-climber, making frequent expeditions to the Scottish Highlands, and pioneering a number of climbs, one of which (the Cumming-Crofton route on Mitre Ridge in the Cairngorms) still bears his name. Like most Cambridge medical students, his clinical practice was in London, in his case at
St Thomas's Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, together with Guy's Hospital, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospit ...
. During this time his family moved from Dublin to London and he lived with his parents for the first time since the age of nine.


Career

Crofton's first medical posts, in 1937, were casual posts at military hospitals: the Royal Herbert Hospital in Woolwich, and the
Queen Alexandra Military Hospital The Queen Alexandra Military Hospital (QAMH) opened in July 1905. It was constructed immediately to the north of the Tate Britain (across a side-street) adjacent to the River Thames on the borders of the neighbourhoods of Millbank and Pimlico, ...
. In August 1939, while temporarily unemployed, he arranged a climbing trip in the French Alps with friends; they were in Italy when they discovered that war was about to break out, and managed to get back into France the day before the border closed, and from there on crowded trains back to England. He then signed up with 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 ...
, serving in France, in Egypt with periods in Greece and Eritrea, and from 1942 to 1944 in Malta. He was then granted home leave and took up a posting in Northern Ireland, where he met his future wife,
Eileen Eileen ( or ) is an Irish feminine given name anglicised from Eibhlín, an Irish form of the Norman French name Aveline, which is derived from the Germanic ''Avi'', possibly meaning ''desire'' in combination with the diminutive suffix ''el'' a ...
, also a qualified doctor. They married in December 1945, just three weeks after he suffered a broken nose in a car crash in Luneburg. Demobilised, he started work at the
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 ...
, organising a controlled trial of the use of
streptomycin Streptomycin is an antibiotic medication used to treat a number of bacterial infections, including tuberculosis, Mycobacterium avium complex, ''Mycobacterium avium'' complex, endocarditis, brucellosis, Burkholderia infection, ''Burkholderia'' i ...
in the treatment of tuberculosis, coordinated by the Medical Research Council: an appointment arranged by Guy Scadding, under whom Crofton had worked in wartime. After a while he was appointed a senior lecturer at the Brompton.


University of Edinburgh

At 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 ...
, Scotland, Crofton was appointed chair of the Respiratory Diseases and Tuberculosis in 1952. In his clinical unit at the City Hospital he introduced and developed what came to be known as the "Edinburgh Method" for tuberculosis treatment. The essence of the method was the use of multiple drugs taken simultaneously to reduce the chance for drug-resistant strains of the tubercle bacilli to develop, this combined with careful monitoring of patients to ensure that they adhered to the prescribed medication regime. His team were able to demonstrate that mortality, and the spread of the disease in the community, could be reduced almost to zero if medication was properly prescribed and properly taken. The incidence of tuberculosis in Edinburgh declined rapidly, and Crofton spent much of the rest of his career travelling around the UK and the wider world attempting to get this message across. Alongside tuberculosis, Crofton's other main work was in preventing tobacco-related medical problems. In this he worked closely with his wife Eileen, who from 1972 headed the
Action on Smoking and Health Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is the name of a number of autonomous pressure groups (charities) in the anglosphere that seek to publicize the risks associated with tobacco smoking and campaign for greater restrictions on use and on cigare ...
(ASH) organisation in Scotland. In 1952 Crofton 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 1977. From 1963 to 1966 Crofton was dean of medicine at the
University of Edinburgh Medical School The University of Edinburgh Medical School (also known as Edinburgh Medical School) is the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the United Kingdom and part of the University of Edinburgh College of Medicine and Veterinar ...
. From 1966 to 1969 he worked with Andrew Douglas on their postgraduate textbook, ''Respiratory Diseases''. From 1969 to 1971, the period of student unrest all around the world, he was vice-principal of the university: during this time
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
(future prime minister) was elected by the students as rector. This had traditionally been a ceremonial post, but Brown decided to exercise his right as rector to chair the University Court. According to Crofton, Brown did the job very efficiently. From 1972 until 1973 Crofton was the Vice President of the
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that set the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by royal charter i ...
. From 1973 to 1976 Crofton was president of the
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that set the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by royal charter i ...
.


International organizations

Crofton was chair of the
International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, or The Union, is a century old global membership based, scientific organization headquartered in Paris with the stated goals to "improve health for people in low- and middle-income Co ...
(IUATLD) from 1984 to 1988. He helped write the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
's guidelines for the treatment of tuberculosis before his death. In 1998, Crofton was a founding member of a new UK and international tuberculosis charity, TB Alert. He served as TB Alert's honorary president from 1999 until his death in 2009. His support for the charity continues through The Sir John Crofton Fund to Fight TB and the Sir John Crofton Prize for TB Nursing.


Recognition

After his 1977 retirement from Edinburgh, Crofton was knighted in the Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours. Crofton was the 2005 recipient of The Union Medal from the IUATLD. The Crofton Award, named in honour of the physician and his wife, physician Eileen Crofton, is given by the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS) and ASH Scotland, recognising the "contributions young people in Scotland make towards reducing the harm caused by tobacco". ''Saving Lives and Preventing Misery: The memoirs of Sir John Wenman Crofton,'' was published in 2013 by Crofton's daughter and son-in-law.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crofton, John 1912 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Scottish medical doctors Anti-smoking activists Irish military doctors Knights Bachelor Medical doctors from Dublin (city) Presidents of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Irish pulmonologists Academics of the University of Edinburgh
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
Office bearers of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh Members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh