Sydney Arthur Monckton Copeman

K.St.J The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of c ...

FRS FRCP (21 February 1862 – 11 April 1947) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

medical doctor and senior medical officer in the

Ministry of Health Ministry of Health may refer to: Note: Italics indicate now-defunct ministries. * Ministry of Health (Argentina) * Ministry of Health (Armenia) * Australia: ** Ministry of Health (New South Wales) * Ministry of Health (The Bahamas) * Ministry of ...

. He was the eldest son of Rev Arthur Charles Copeman, Vicar of St Andrew's Norwich. He was educated at

Norwich School Norwich School (formally King Edward VI Grammar School, Norwich) is a selective English independent day school in the close of Norwich Cathedral, Norwich. Among the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, it has a traceable history to 1096 as a ...

and

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th centur ...

from which he graduated in 1882. He went on to undergo medical training at

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS ...

, London, qualifying in 1886. He obtained a

post-graduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and struc ...

MD at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1890. In 1891 he became a medical inspector with the

Local Government Board The Local Government Board (LGB) was a British Government supervisory body overseeing local administration in England and Wales from 1871 to 1919. The LGB was created by the Local Government Board Act 1871 (C. 70) and took over the public health a ...

. In 1898, he was awarded the

Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh The Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh is awarded by the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine to a person who has made any highly important and valuable addition to Practical Therapeutics in the previous five ye ...

. When the Ministry of Health replaced the board in 1919, Copeman became a medical officer with the ministry, retiring in 1925. He was an authority on

vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

, and is credited with the development of glycerinated lymph. In 1898 he delivered the Milroy Lecture on ''Vaccination – Its Natural History and Pathology'', published as a book in the following year. and was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1899. In 1903 he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...

and in 1925 was awarded the

Edward Jenner Medal The Edward Jenner Medal is awarded occasionally by the Royal Society of Medicine to individuals who have undertaken distinguished work in epidemiological research. The award was founded in 1896 by the Epidemiological Society of London (1850–190 ...

of the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London. History The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chamber ...

. Following his retirement from the Ministry of Health, Copeman entered

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-lo ...

. He was a member of

Hampstead Borough Council Hampstead was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, governed by an administrative vestry. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board ...

, where he was chairman of the public health committee, and was elected to the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

as a

Municipal Reform Party The Municipal Reform Party was a local party allied to the parliamentary Conservative Party in the County of London. The party contested elections to both the London County Council and metropolitan borough councils of the county from 1906 to 194 ...

councillor representing Hampstead in 1934. He died in

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th ce ...

, Sussex, in April 1947, aged 85. Copeman's son

W. S. C. Copeman William Sidney Charles Copeman (1900 – 24 November 1970) was a British rheumatologist and a medical historian, best remembered for his contributions to the study of arthritic disease. As a rheumatologist, Copeman was influential in the ...

became a prominent

rheumatologist Rheumatology (Greek ''ῥεῦμα'', ''rheûma'', flowing current) is a branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and management of disorders whose common feature is inflammation in the bones, muscles, joints, and internal organs. Rheumatolog ...

and

medical historian The medical history, case history, or anamnesis (from Greek: ἀνά, ''aná'', "open", and μνήσις, ''mnesis'', "memory") of a patient is information gained by a physician by asking specific questions, either to the patient or to other peo ...

. He had married Ethel Margaret Boord, daughter of Sir Thomas William Boord. They had one son and two daughters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Copeman, Sydney Arthur Monckton Knights of Grace of the Order of St John Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians 1862 births 1947 deaths Members of London County Council People educated at Norwich School Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Municipal Reform Party politicians Members of Hampstead Metropolitan Borough Council