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

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

Physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

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 ha ...

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 in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge The Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge, or the SSPCK, was a group established in Scotland to promote the better understanding of the principles of the reformed Christian religion, principally through the established Church of S ...

. 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 (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

near

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

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 (, ; 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 ...

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 (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, Sir William Turner, William Cramer and

George Chrystal George Chrystal FRSE FRS (8 March 1851 – 3 November 1911) was a Scottish mathematician. He is primarily known for his books on algebra and his studies of seiches (wave patterns in large inland bodies of water) which earned him a Gold Meda ...

Death

He died at

Cayuga Heights, New York Cayuga Heights is a village in Tompkins County, New York, United States, and an upscale suburb of Ithaca, New York. The population was 4,114 at the 2020 census. The Village of Cayuga Heights is in the Town of Ithaca, directly northeast of the ...

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 The Wilder Brain Collection is a collection of human brains maintained by the Cornell University Department of Psychology. The collection was created by professor of anatomy, Burt Green Wilder. He was a member of the American Anthropometric Societ ...

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