Sir Stewart Stockman MRCVS (1869–1926) was a 19th/20th century British veterinarian who served as

Chief Veterinary Officer Chief veterinary officer (CVO) is the head of a veterinary authority (typically a national government service comprising veterinarians, other professionals and paraprofessionals). They have the responsibility and competence for ensuring or supervis ...

to the

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

and as President of the

Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) is the regulatory body for veterinary surgeons in the United Kingdom, established in 1844 by royal charter. It is responsible for monitoring the educational, ethical and clinical standards of the ...

for the year 1923/24 and President of the National Veterinary Association. He was an expert on

foot and mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, followe ...

Life

He was born on 27 September 1869 in Wellington Street in

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

(the harbour area of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

) the fourth son of William John Stockman (d.1908), a flour importer, and his wife. He was younger brother to

Ralph Stockman Dr Ralph Stockman MD LLD (3 August 1861–27 February 1946) was a Scottish Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics at the University of Glasgow. He was an expert on iron deficiency anaemia. Life Stockman was born on 3 August 1861 at ...

. The family moved to a larger house at 2 Bonnington Place in 1870. He was educated at the

Royal High School, Edinburgh The Royal High School (RHS) of Edinburgh is a co-educational state school, school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland. It serves 1,200 pupils drawn from four ...

then studied Veterinary Science at the

Royal Veterinary College , mottoeng = Confront disease at onset , established = (became a constituent part of University of London in 1949) , endowment = £10.5 million (2021) , budget = £106.0 million (20 ...

on Clyde Street in

under Prof Thomas Walley. He did postgraduate studies in animal pathology in both

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

and

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and returned to Edinburgh in 1892 as Professor of Pathology and Bacteriology at his alma mater. After seven years at the college he left Scotland in 1899 to serve in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

At the end of the war in 1902 he went to work in India then moved in 1903 to work as Chief Veterinary Officer to the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

, concentrating on diseases of cattle and tropical diseases in general. In 1905 he obtained the highly prestigious position as Chief Veterinary Officer to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. He was Director of their research laboratory at

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...

. His main claim to fame during his term of office was in the elimination of

glanders Glanders is a contagious zoonotic infectious disease that occurs primarily in horses, mules, and donkeys. It can be contracted by other animals, such as dogs, cats, pigs, goats, and humans. It is caused by infection with the bacterium '' Burkh ...

from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and in the creation of the Tuberculosis Order of 1925 which eliminated the risk of tuberculosis in cattle spreading to humans through the consumption of milk. He was knighted on 1 January 1913 by King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Q ...

for veterinary services to the United Kingdom. From this time he was working under Sir

Sydney Olivier Sydney Haldane Olivier, 1st Baron Olivier, (16 April 1859 – 15 February 1943) was a British civil servant. A Fabian and a member of the Labour Party, he served as Governor of Jamaica and as Secretary of State for India in the first govern ...

and Sir Thomas Elliott at the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. He died at 16 Newton Terrace in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

, the home of his brother Ralph, on 2 June 1926.

Family

In 1908 he married Ethel McFadyean, daughter of his colleague, Sir

John McFadyean Sir John McFadyean FRSE LLD (1853 - 1941) was a Scottish veterinary surgeon and Professor of Veterinary Science. He was Principal of (and a Professor at) the Royal Veterinary College from 1894 to 1927. In 1906 he was the first person to isolat ...

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 letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This so ...

. They had two daughters.The County Families of the United Kingdom: Edward Walford

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stockman, Stewart 1869 births 1926 deaths People from Leith British veterinarians