John Tait (1878 – 21 October 1944) was a 20th-century Scottish physician, physiologist and medical author. He was emeritus Professor of Medicine at

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, ...

in Canada.

Life

He was born at

St Ola St Ola is a parish on Mainland, Orkney. It is in the centre of the island, east of the parish Firth and north of Holm. It contains the capital and largest town of the Orkney archipelago, Kirkwall Kirkwall (, , or ; ) is the largest town i ...

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

in 1878. He studied medicine 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 ...

, graduating

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

in 1906, and winning the gold medal for best in class that same year. In 1907 John Tait gained a D.Sc. He undertook postgraduate studies at

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and began lecturing in Experimental Physiology at Edinburgh in 1910. His essay on “Yohimbine : a contribution to the study of narcotic agents” was awarded the Edinburgh University Milner Fothergill Medal in Therapeutics, 1911. In the

First World War 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 served 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 ...

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

and Italy. In 1917, 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 Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer,

James Cossar Ewart James Cossar Ewart Royal Society, FRS FRSE (26 November 1851 – 31 December 1933) was a Scottish zoologist. He performed breeding experiments with horses and zebras which disproved earlier theories of heredity. Life Ewart was born in Pe ...

, James Lorrain Smith and

Cargill Gilston Knott Cargill Gilston Knott FRS, FRSE LLD (30 June 1856 – 26 October 1922) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was a pioneer in seismological research. He spent his early career in Japan. He later became a Fellow of the Royal Society, ...

. He won the Society's

Neill Prize 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 ...

for 1917–1919, and resigned in 1936. From 1919 to 1940, he was

Joseph Morley Drake Joseph Morley Drake (1828-1886) was a British doctor and educator. Drake studied chemistry at the London Polytechnic Institute, and graduated as an analytical chemist in 1845. That same year, he migrated to Canada, where he worked as a pharmacist. ...

Professor of Physiology at

. This followed a 4-year

interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...

during the

following the premature death of Prof

George Mines George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorgi ...

. He was joined in his work by W. J. McNally and

Boris Babkin Boris Petrovitch Babkin FRS, M.D., D.Sc, LL.D (; 17 January 1877 – 3 May 1950) was a Russian-born physiologist, who worked in Russia, England and Canada. Career Babkin graduated from the Military Medical Academy, St. Petersburg, w ...

. In 1938, he had a heart attack, forcing him into semi-retirement. He retired fully in 1940 and had a return trip to Scotland. His position as Professor of Physiology was filled by Babkin. He died in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

on 21 October 1944.

References

1878 births 1944 deaths People from Orkney Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish physiologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada {{Scotland-med-bio-stub