John George Adami (; 12 January 1862 – 29 August 1926) was an English

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

. He was the head of the pathological department of the Royal Victoria Hospital. From 1892, he was professor of pathology in McGill University, Montreal, Canada. During World War I, he was accorded a temporary commission in the Canadian Army Medical Corps to serve as the official historian for the medical branch. Starting in 1919, he was the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool.

Life

He was born in the

Ashton upon Mersey Ashton upon Mersey is an area in Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre and immediately adjoins Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale to the east. It gives its name to t ...

district of south

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England, the son of John George Adami, a local hotel proprietor, and his wife, Sarah Ann Ellis Leech. He was educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a highly Selective school, selective Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom, private day school for boys aged 7-18 in Manchester, England, which was founded in 1515 by Hugh Oldham (then Bishop of Exeter). ...

Owens College Owens may refer to: Places in the United States * Owens Station, Delaware * Owens Township, St. Louis County, Minnesota * Owens, Missouri * Owens, Ohio * Owens, Texas * Owens, Virginia People * Owens (surname), including a list of people with ...

in Manchester and then studied medicine at

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

, with postgraduate study in both Breslau (then in Germany, now part of Poland) and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He took distinguished honours at Cambridge in natural science, was Darwin prizeman in 1885, M.R.C.S., and was appointed demonstrator of physiology at

Cambridge University 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 ...

in 1887. In 1888, he exposed himself to rabies, and published an account of his treatment at the

Pasteur Institute The Pasteur Institute (, ) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who invented pasteurization and vaccines for anthrax and rabies. Th ...

's vaccination clinic. Elected fellow of

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

in 1891, he soon afterwards became head of the pathological department of the Royal Victoria Hospital. From 1892, he was Professor of Pathology in

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, Canada. 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 ...

he held a temporary commission in the Canadian Army Medical Corps and served on the staff of the overseas Director General Medical Services, London. His principal role was as Assistant Medical Director in charge of statistics and returns. He was also appointed Medical Historical Recorder, and in this capacity charged with compiling a contemporary account of the Canadian medical service during the war, the first volume of which was published in 1918 as ''The War Story of the Canadian Army Medical Corps, Vol. 1''. The remainder of his work on this subject remains unpublished. His wartime diary is held at the Welcome Library. From 1919, he was Vice-Chancellor of

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

. He was the author of numerous monographs upon subjects relating to pathology in French, German, English and American medical journals, and of many papers read before medical societies. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 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". ...

in 1898, His proposers were John Batty Tuke, Diarmid Noel Paton, Thomas Richard Fraser and David Berry Hart. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

in 1902 and a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

on 11 May 1905. He died in Liverpool in 1926.

Family

He married Mary Stuart Cantlie in 1894 in Montreal. They had three children, of whom 2 survived. Widowed in 1916, he married in 1922 in Liverpool Marie Wilkinson, who outlived him.

Legacy

In 1903 Adami proposed two new terms that would be used to classify the neoplasms: ''lepidic'' (from , , meaning a rind, skin, or membrane), applied to characterise the tumors that appeared to be derived from connective tissues, and ''hylic'' (from , meaning crude undifferentiated material) for tumors that appeared to be derived from connective tissues. In the present day the term ''lepidic'' defines the proliferation of tumor cells along the surface of intact alveolar walls without stromal or vascular invasion.

Works

* * *

Honours and awards

* 1898:

* 1905:

Fellow of the Royal Society of London Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...

* 1914: Fothergillian prize of the London Medical Society * 1917:

Croonian Lecture The Croonian Medal and Lecture is a prestigious award, a medal, and lecture given at the invitation of the Royal Society and the Royal College of Physicians. Among the papers of William Croone at his death in 1684, was a plan to endow a singl ...

at the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

* 1919: awarded

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 ...

* 1921: 1st David Lloyd Roberts Lecture at

Manchester Royal Infirmary Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) is a large NHS teaching hospital in Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, England. Founded by Charles White in 1752 as part of the voluntary hospital movement of the 18th century, it is now a major regional and nati ...

: " Charles White of Manchester (1728-1813) and the arrest of

puerperal fever The postpartum (or postnatal) period begins after childbirth and is typically considered to last for six to eight weeks. There are three distinct phases of the postnatal period; the acute phase, lasting for six to twelve hours after birth; the ...

References

External links

Adami, John George (1862-1926), pathologist
NRA 13214: National Archives
"John George Adami"
Walter Stoneman, ''National Portrait Gallery''
"Mrs. J. G. Adami and children on horseback"
Windermere area, British Columbia, ''Glenbow Museum'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adami, John George 1862 births 1926 deaths People from Sale, Greater Manchester Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge British pathologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society Academic staff of McGill University Vice-chancellors of the University of Liverpool People educated at Manchester Grammar School