Peter David Handyside

FRSE 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". ...

FRCSE (1808–1881) was a Scottish surgeon and anatomist. He was president of the Royal Medical Society in 1828. He won the Harveian Society Medal in 1827. He was also president of the Medico-Chirurgical Society of Edinburgh in 1871.

Life

Handyside was born at 16 South Frederick Street in Edinburgh’s

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on 26 October 1808, the son of Jane Cuninghame and William Handyside WS (1746–1818), a lawyer. His elder brother Robert Handyside (1798–1858) rose to the top of the Scottish legal world, becoming Lord Handyside. He was apprenticed to the eminent surgeon

James Syme James Syme (7 November 1799 – 26 June 1870) was a Scottish pioneering surgeon. Early life James Syme was born on 7 November 1799 at 56 Princes Street in Edinburgh. His father was John Syme WS of Cartmore and Lochore, estates in Fife ...

to train as a doctor. 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 ...

. He then undertook postgraduate studies first in

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 ...

and then in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

under the eminent physiologist

Friedrich Tiedemann Friedrich Tiedemann FRS HFRSE (23 August 178122 January 1861) was a German anatomist and physiologist. He was an expert on the anatomy of the brain. Tiedemann spent most of his career as professor of anatomy and physiology at Heidelberg Univer ...

. He gained his doctorate (MD) from the University of Edinburgh in 1833. In 1833, he began lecturing in anatomy at the

later also lecturing in systematic surgery, both based at Surgeons' Square. In 1834 Handyside 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 one of its secretaries from 1837-1849. In 1836, 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 proposer being his mentor,

. He was a councillor to the Society 1869–71. In 1837 he was elected a member of the

Aesculapian Club The Aesculapian Club of Edinburgh is one of the oldest medical dining clubs in the world. It was founded in April 1773 by Dr. Andrew Duncan. Membership of the club is limited to 11 Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and ...

. In 1839, he became a senior surgeon at

Edinburgh Royal Infirmary The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) was established in 1729, and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on, the Empire."In Comi ...

on Drummond Street. In 1858, he founded the Cowgate Medical Mission Dispensary in Edinburgh’s Old Town, aimed at giving relief to the poor (especially Irish Catholic) population in that area of the city. Under the subsequent leadership of William Thomson, this dispensary was later supplemented by the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society's Training Institution in 1861. This was all housed in a building designed by

Richard Crichton Richard Crichton (died 1817) was a Scottish architect operating in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was described as "competent and versatile". Life He was born around 1771, the son of James Crichton (d.1797) an Edinburgh mason. ...

some 50 years earlier, attached to the Magdalene Chapel.Edinburgh Ordnance Survey map, 1895 It was expanded and extended in 1878 to create the Livingstone Memorial Institute. This facility later evolved into EMMS International. Handyside died at home, 16 Landsdowne Crescent in Edinburgh’s West End, on 21 February 1881. He is buried with his parents in St Cuthbert's Churchyard at the west end of

Princes Street Princes Street () is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three quar ...

. The grave lies to the south-east of the church very close to the entrance to

Princes Street Gardens Princes Street Gardens are two adjacent public parks in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The Gardens were created in the 1820s following the long draining of the Nor Loch and building of the New Town, ...

(screened by the Hamilton vault when approaching from the west).

Family

He was married to Eliza Walsh (1811–1882) and together they had three daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Handyside, Peter David 1808 births 1881 deaths Medical doctors from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Scottish surgeons Scottish anatomists Medical missionaries Office bearers of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh Members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh