Sutherland Simpson

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 soci ...

(3 February 1863 – 2 March 1926) was a Scottish physician who emigrated to the United States to become Professor of

Physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

Life

He was born at Saraquoy on the island of

Flotta Flotta () is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, lying in Scapa Flow. The island is known for its large oil terminal and is linked by Orkney Ferries to Houton on the Orkney Mainland, Lyness on Hoy and Longhope on South Walls. The island has ...

in the Orkney Isles on 3 February 1863, the eldest son of Margaret (née Taylor) and Sutherland Simpson. He attended a school on the island run by the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge. He worked on his father's croft and aimed to be master of a sailing ship so studied navigation under a teacher on the island, John Brown Gorrie. Around 1881, he went to

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 ...

near

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 ...

seeking work on a ship but, failing in this took a position as a laboratory assistant in the Physiology Department at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

under Professor William Rutherford. He took seven years of evening classes to gain a general degree then became eligible to study medicine at the University. He graduated MB ChB in 1899, aged 36. In the same year Rutherford died and was replaced by Professor Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer. He continued as his lab assistant gaining his first doctorate (MD) in 1901 and second (DSc) in 1903. From 1902 he lectured in Experimental Physiology at the University of Edinburgh. In 1908 Sharpey-Schafer was invited to

and asked to recommend a Professor of Physiology and Biochemistry. He recommended Simpson changing his life forever and Simpson began later that year. In 1911, he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh 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 established i ...

. His proposers were Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer,

Sir William Turner Sir William Turner (7 January 1832, in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster – 15 February 1916, in Edinburgh) was an English anatomist and was the Principal of the University of Edinburgh from 1903 to 1916. Life Turner was born in Lancaster ...

, William Cramer and George Chrystal.

Death

He died at Cayuga Heights, New York near

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

on 3 March 1926, aged 63. His brain is on display at Cornell as part of the Wilder Brain Collection.

Family

He was married twice: firstly to Margaret Drever, secondly to Catherine Anderson. He had three children: Sutherland, Ethel and Ralph.

Artistic Recognition

He was portrayed by Norwegian artist Christian Midjo.

References

1863 births 1926 deaths People from Orkney Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish physiologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Cornell University faculty People from Tompkins County, New York {{UK-med-bio-stub