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Sir Richard Ian Samuel Bayliss (2 January 1917 – 21 April 2006) was an English physician specialising in
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 ...
. He became
Physician to the Queen Physician to the King (or Queen, as appropriate) is a title (as postnominals, KHP, QHP) held by physicians of the Medical Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Part of the Royal Household, the Medical Household includes physicians, ...
and head of the
Medical Household The Medical Household is the medical part of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Overview Current roles include a Personal Doctor to the King and Queen, Physician to the King, a Serjeant Surgeon, Apothecaries to the King, ...
.


Early life and training

Richard Bayliss was born in
Tettenhall Tettenhall is a historic village within the City of Wolverhampton, in the county of the West Midlands, England. Tettenhall became part of Wolverhampton district in 1966, along with Bilston, Wednesfield and parts of Willenhall, Coseley and ...
, then in
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
, and was the son of an
ironmaster An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain. The ironmaster was usually a larg ...
. His early education was at
Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...
, and he then undertook pre-clinical studies in medicine at
Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...
. His clinical training was at
St Thomas' Hospital Medical School St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in London was one of the oldest and most prestigious medical schools in the UK. The school was absorbed to form part of GKT School of Medical Education. History It was part of one of the oldest hospitals in ...
, London, where he qualified in medicine in 1941.


Career

Following qualification, during the bombing of London in World War II, Bayliss undertook a number of jobs at
St Thomas' 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 Hospita ...
, rising to the position of resident assistant physician. In 1945 he joined 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 ...
and for three years was head of medical services in India. Bayliss was awarded his MD in 1946, his thesis being on the subject of cardiac
metastases Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spreading from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, ...
from
bronchogenic carcinoma Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cell (biology), cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemi ...
. He returned to England in 1948 and in 1950 was appointed lecturer in medicine and consultant physician at
Hammersmith Hospital Hammersmith Hospital, formerly the Military Orthopaedic Hospital, and later the Special Surgical Hospital, is a major teaching hospital in White City, London, White City, West London. It is part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the ...
. In 1950–51 he was also visiting
Rockefeller fellow The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller ("Seni ...
at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
, New York. Bayliss moved to
Westminster Hospital Westminster Hospital was a hospital in London, England, founded in 1719. In 1834 a medical school attached to the hospital was formally founded. In 1939 a newly built hospital and medical school opened in Horseferry Road, Westminster. In 1994 the ...
in 1954, becoming consultant physician specialising in
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 was dean of
Westminster Hospital Medical School The Westminster Hospital Medical School was one of the constituent medical schools of Imperial College School of Medicine. It was formally founded in 1834 by George Guthrie, an ex-military surgeon – although students had been taken on at Wes ...
from 1960 to 1965. He retired from Westminster Hospital in 1981 but continued to see patients privately, and also undertook advisory, consultant and directing roles for a number of institutions, including the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
, the
British Heart Foundation The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a cardiovascular research charity in the United Kingdom. It funds medical research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, and runs influencing work aimed at shaping public policy ...
, and the
British Thyroid Foundation The British Thyroid Foundation (BTF) is a UK-based, patient-led, registered charity dedicated to supporting people with thyroid Thyroid#Clinical significance, disorders and helping their families and people around them to understand the conditio ...
.


Royal Household

Bayliss joined the
Medical Household The Medical Household is the medical part of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Overview Current roles include a Personal Doctor to the King and Queen, Physician to the King, a Serjeant Surgeon, Apothecaries to the King, ...
as physician to the Royal Household in 1964. He was
Physician to the Queen Physician to the King (or Queen, as appropriate) is a title (as postnominals, KHP, QHP) held by physicians of the Medical Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Part of the Royal Household, the Medical Household includes physicians, ...
from 1970 to 1983, head of the Medical Household from 1973 to 1982, and was created KCVO in 1978. Amongst his other royal duties, Bayliss attended
Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950) is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King ...
in 1976 when she fell from a horse, and he was present at the birth of
Zara Phillips Zara Anne Elizabeth Tindall (; born 15 May 1981) is a British equestrian, Olympian, socialite and member of the British royal family. She is the daughter of Anne, Princess Royal, and Captain Mark Phillips, and the eldest niece of King Charles ...
in 1981. He also attended the
Duchess of Kent Duchess of Kent is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, Duchess of Kent ...
in 1977 after the loss of her baby, and again in 1979.


Personal life

Bayliss was an accomplished pianist, and helped to organise the Christmas shows while a student at St Thomas'. He was proficient at jazz, and spent three months as a professional musician in Munich. Bayliss was also a keen skier and had been skiing shortly before his death at the age of 89. He was a lifelong smoker, and suffered from a variety of diseases. In 1964, at the age of 48, he suffered a
myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
(heart attack) and, against medical advice, he was skiing within three weeks. He underwent
coronary artery bypass surgery Coronary artery bypass surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG, pronounced "cabbage"), is a surgical procedure to treat coronary artery disease (CAD), the buildup of plaques in the arteries of the heart. It can relieve chest ...
, and also suffered from a leaking
aortic aneurysm An aortic aneurysm is an enlargement (dilatation) of the aorta to greater than 1.5 times normal size. Typically, there are no symptoms except when the aneurysm dissects or ruptures, which causes sudden, severe pain in the abdomen and lower back ...
, and a perforated
Meckel's diverticulum A Meckel's diverticulum, a true congenital diverticulum, is a slight bulge in the small intestine present at birth and a vestigial remnant of the vitelline duct. It is the most common malformation of the Human gastrointestinal tract, gastrointesti ...
. In addition he suffered from
histoplasmosis Histoplasmosis is a fungal infection caused by ''Histoplasma capsulatum''. Symptoms of this infection vary greatly, but the disease affects primarily the lungs. Occasionally, other organs are affected; called disseminated histoplasmosis, it can ...
, a fungal infection that he probably contracted while he was in the US. His death was due to cancer. Bayliss was married three times. From his first marriage with Margaret-Joan Hardman, he had a son, who became a consultant radiologist, and a daughter. He had two daughters from his second marriage with Constance-Ellen Frey. Both these marriages were dissolved, and when he died, his third marriage with countess Marina de Borchgrave d'Altena had lasted 27 years.


Lectures and publications


Lectures

Both to the Royal College of Physicians: *1974
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 ...
on ''Idiopathic oedema in women''. *1983 Harveian Oration on ''Thyroid disease as the expression of autoimmune disorder''.


Publications

Bayliss published 100 papers, and wrote 33 chapters in books. He was also the author of: *''Practical Procedures in Clinical Medicine'' (1950) (London,
J & A Churchill John Spriggs Morss Churchill (1801–1875) was an English medical publisher. Life The third son of the Rev. James Churchill (1770–1820), a dissenting minister, by his wife Mary née Morss (1775–1820), a daughter of George Morss, he was born ...
), which ran to three editions *''Thyroid Disease: the Facts'' (Oxford, (1982)
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
), a book for patients, which also went to three editions. *''In Sickness and in Health: a Physician Remembers'' (2007) (Lewes, Book Guild), personal memoirs.


Interviews


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayliss, Richard Ian Samuel 1917 births 2006 deaths 20th-century English medical doctors Alumni of St Thomas's Hospital Medical School Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order British endocrinologists Physicians of the Westminster Hospital