Dr Thomas Goodall Nasmyth

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 ...

DL JP DPH (28 February 1855 – 16 January 1937) was a Scottish physician, medical author and historian. He served as Medical Officer of Health for Fife, Kinross and Clackmannanshire. He was one of the first (1899) to link

Bovine Tuberculosis Bovines ( subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including cattle, bison, African buffalo, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The evolutionary relationship betw ...

to the human form, later leading to the widespread use of pasteurisation of milk. He was influential in the decision to bond whisky for 3 years

Life

He was born in Auchterderran in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...

on 28 February 1855 the son of Isabella Chisholm and her husband, James A. Nasmyth. who owned the Fife Coal Company. He graduated

MB ChB Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

from 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 ...

in 1876. In 1886 he gained a Diploma in Public Health (DPH) from the

University of Cambridge , 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 ...

. He gained his DSc from the University of Edinburgh in 1887 In 1887 he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 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 s ...

. His proposers were Dr John Chiene, Sir Thomas Grainger Stewart,

Peter Denny Peter Denny FRSE LLD (25 October 1821 – 22 August 1895) was a shipbuilder and shipowner based in Dumbarton, Scotland. Parents and education Denny was the son of William Denny (1779–1833) and his wife Christeanne Macintyre. He was first appre ...

and Dr Kirk Duncanson. He resigned from the Society in 1908. In 1889 he became Fife's first

Medical Officer of Health A medical officer of health, also known as a medical health officer, chief health officer, chief public health officer or district medical officer, is the title commonly used for the senior government official of a health department, usually at a m ...

and took up residence in

Cupar Cupar ( ; gd, Cùbar) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in F ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

he oversaw medical issues at

HM Factory, Gretna H.M. Factory, Gretna was the United Kingdom's largest cordite factory in World War I. The government-owned facility was adjacent to the Solway Firth, near Gretna, Dumfries and Galloway. It was built by the Ministry of Munitions in response to ...

as the Admistrative Medical Officer . Scotland's largest explosives factory. In 1916 he was living at 27 Palmerston Place in Edinburgh's West End and also noted as having property, Torrie House in Newmills, Fife. He retired to

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 ...

and died at his home, Canaan Lodge on 16 January 1937. He was cremated at Warriston Crematorium , his ashes being buried in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...

. He was an early subscriber to the development of an Edinburgh Crematorium. The grave lies on the main east–west path of the first northern extension, slightly to the south-west of the central obelisk. He is buried with his wife and daughter Jenny McKillop (1883-1917) and Violet Nicol Nasmyth nee Denny (1859-1941).

Publications

*''Hints about the Prevention of Consumption'' (1899) *''Milk-borne Diseases'' (1899) *''Report on Methods of Sewage Purification'' (1900) *''The Kingdom: Its Characteristics and Distinguished Sons'' (1922) – A history of

*''Annual Report on the Health and Sanitary Conditions of the County of Fife'' *''A Manual of Public Health'' *''The Geographical Distribution of Cancer in Scotland'' *''Air of Coal Mines''

Positions of Note

* Deputy Lieutenant of Edinburgh *Justice of the Peace for Fife *Director of the Fife Coal Company *Director of the Commercial Bank of Scotland *Director of the Highland and Agricultural Society *Director of the Scottish National Housing Company Ltd. *Chairman of the Royal Maternity Hospital and Simpson Maternity Hospital *Convenor of the Deaconess Hospital Board *Board Member for the Royal Dick Veterinary College *Board Member of the Animal Diseases Research Association of Scotland *President of the Scottish Branch of the Medical Officers of Health Association *Town Councillor for

Morningside, Edinburgh Morningside is a district and former village in the south of Edinburgh, Scotland. It lies alongside the main arterial Morningside Road, part of an ancient route from Edinburgh to the south west of Scotland. The original village served several ...

1921 to 1929 *Councillor to the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...

1906 to 1910

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasmyth, Thomas Goodall 1855 births 1937 deaths 19th-century Scottish medical doctors 20th-century Scottish medical doctors Scottish non-fiction writers People from Fife Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Burials at the Dean Cemetery