Sir Derrick Melville Dunlop (3 April 1902 – 9 June 1980) was a Scottish

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and

pharmacologist Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between ...

in British medical administration and policy-making in the late 20th century. He established the Dunlop Committee which investigates the side-effects of new drugs in the UK.

Life

Dunlop was born in

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 ...

on 3 April 1902 to Dr George Harry Melville Dunlop (1859–1916) of 20 Abercromby Place, an expert in child health and physician at the Edinburgh Sick Children’s Hospital, and Margaret Eliot Boog Scott. His father, a

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

and one of the oldest physicians to volunteer for active service, died of pneumonia at

Étaples Étaples or Étaples-sur-Mer (; or ; formerly ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France, northern France. It is a fishing and leisure port on the Canche river. History Étapl ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Dunlop attended

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Stockbridge, is now part of the Senior Scho ...

from 1909 until 1919. He went up to

Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

, Oxford, and then 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 ...

, graduating as

MB ChB A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

in 1926, followed by an MD awarded in 1927. He worked briefly in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

before returning to Edinburgh to work under Sir Robert Philip on pioneering work regarding the treatment of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

before taking up the Christison

Chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

in Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology aged 34, and also concurrently being Senior Physician at the

Edinburgh Royal Infirmary The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) was established in 1729, and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on, the Empire."In Comi ...

.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Derrick Dunlop Dunlop tutored

Joyce Baird Joyce Elizabeth Leslie Baird (8 December 1929 – 3 October 2015) was a British trade unionist. Baird studied at The Abbey School, Reading, then at Newnham College, Cambridge, before training as a secretary. In 1952, she worked briefly as se ...

, who went on to establish a Metabolic Unit and conduct laboratory and clinical research into diabetes and other endocrine disorders. In 1929 Dunlop was elected a member of the

Harveian Society of Edinburgh The Harveian Society of Edinburgh was founded in April 1782 by Andrew Duncan (physician, born 1744), Andrew Duncan. The Society holds an annual Festival in honour of the life and works of William Harvey, the physician who first correctly des ...

and was one of its secretaries from 1934-1956. He served as President in 1957. In 1937 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 Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

. His proposers were Sir Robert William Philip,

Arthur Logan Turner Arthur Logan Turner FRCSEd FRSE LLD (4 May 1865 – 6 June 1939) was a Scottish surgeon, who specialised in diseases of ear, nose and throat (ENT) and was one of the first surgeons to work at the purpose-built ENT Pavilion at the Royal Infirmary ...

Edwin Bramwell Edwin Bramwell FRSE Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, FRCPE (11 January 1873 – 21 March 1952) was a British Neurology, neurologist. He was President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh from 1933 to 1935. Life He was b ...

, and Sir Sydney Alfred Smith. In 1946, Dunlop was elected to the

Aesculapian Club The Aesculapian Club of Edinburgh is one of the oldest medical dining clubs in the world. It was founded in April 1773 by Dr. Andrew Duncan. Membership of the club is limited to 11 Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and ...

of Edinburgh. He was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

ed by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

in 1960. In 1961 he was appointed official Physician to the Queen in Scotland, a post he held until 1965. Dunlop retired from his professorship in 1962. In 1963 the British Government asked him to set up and chair a Committee following the

thalidomide Thalidomide, sold under the brand names Contergan and Thalomid among others, is an oral administered medication used to treat a number of cancers (e.g., multiple myeloma), graft-versus-host disease, and many skin disorders (e.g., complication ...

tragedy. This was called the

Committee on the Safety of Medicines The Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) was an independent advisory committee that advised the UK Licensing Authority on the quality, efficacy, and safety of medicines. Following the thalidomide tragedy of 1957 to 1961, in 1963 the governmen ...

. In 1968 he became the first Chairman of the newly created

Medicines Commission The Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) is a committee of the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. It was formed in October 2005, and assumed the responsibilities of the Medicines Commission and the Committee on Safety of Medi ...

. Sir Derrick died in

on 9 June 1980. He lived most of his adult life at

Bavelaw Castle Bavelaw Castle is a historic house in the City of Edinburgh Council area, Scotland. It is north of Hare Hill in the Pentland Hills, four miles west of Penicuik, and two miles south of Balerno, above Threipmuir Reservoir. It was designated as a C ...

near

Balerno Balerno () is a village on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland situated south-west of the city centre, next to Currie and then Juniper Green. Traditionally in the county of Midlothian it now administratively falls within the jurisdiction o ...

, to the south-west of

, just south of

Threipmuir Reservoir Threipmuir Reservoir is a reservoir in the City of Edinburgh Council area, Scotland, UK. It is situated to the south of Edinburgh at the base of the Pentland Hills, two miles south of Balerno. Threipmuir reservoir is located behind an earth dam ...

Awards and academic positions

See

Munk's Roll The Roll of the Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to as Munk's Roll, is a series of published works containing biographical entries of the fellows of the Royal College of Physicians. It was published in print in eleven volum ...

: * Sims Commonwealth Travelling Professor (1957) * Honorary degree from

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

* Honorary degree from the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

* Honorary degree from the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

* Honorary Fellow of the

American College of Physicians The American College of Physicians (ACP) is a Philadelphia-based national organization of internal medicine physicians, who specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, and care of adults. With 161,000 members, ACP is the largest medical-specialty or ...

* Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford * Lumleian and Croonian Lecturer at the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

* Chairman of the British Pharmacopeia Commission 1954-58 * Junior President of the Royal Medical Society (1925) * President of the

1957 * Bisset Hawkins Medal of the

, 1971 * First Chairman of the Royal Medical Society Trust (1979) * Honorary Fellowship in Dental Surgery * Director of Winthrop Laboratories

Family

A scion of the ancient Scottish family, Dunlop of Dunlop, in 1936 he married Marjorie Richardson, eldest daughter of Henry Edward Richardson WS. They had one son and one daughter. His granddaughter Dr

Tessa Dunlop Tessa Dunlop (born 1974 in Scotland) is a British historian, writer and broadcaster. She has written several history books based on oral history, and presented history programmes for the BBC, Channel 4, Discovery Channel, UKTV History and the H ...

, married Vlad Pricopi, a

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

and wrote the book ''To Romania With Love''.

Quotations

In relation to the thalidomide tragedy he said: "if experts are occasionally wrong they are less often wrong than non-experts ....nevertheless, we interfere with the prescribing doctor’s final freedom of decision at our peril in a free democracy".

Publications

* ''The Textbook of Medical Treatment'' (1939), co-written with Sir Stanley Davidson and Sir John McNee. * ''Clinical Chemistry in Practical Medicine'' (1954) was co-written with C P Stewart.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunlop, Derrick Melville 1902 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Scottish medical doctors Scottish pharmacologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Medical doctors from Edinburgh Scottish non-fiction writers People educated at Edinburgh Academy Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Knights Bachelor Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Fellows of Brasenose College, Oxford Physicians of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh Tuberculosis researchers Office bearers of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh Members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh