Alexander Russell Simpson

Sir
Alexander Russell Simpson
FRCPE FRS
Born (1835-04-30)April 30, 1835
Bathgate
Died April 6, 1916(1916-04-06) (aged 80)
Resting place Grange Cemetery
55°56′07″N 3°11′15″W / 55.935228°N 3.187578°W / 55.935228; -3.187578Coordinates: 55°56′07″N 3°11′15″W / 55.935228°N 3.187578°W / 55.935228; -3.187578
Nationality British
Alma mater University of Edinburgh
Known for Invention of the axis traction.
Spouse(s) Margaret Stewart Barbour
Scientific career
Institutions University of Edinburgh, Royal Society of Edinburgh
Axis Traction or Obstetrics Forceps
52 Queen Street, Edinburgh
The grave of Alexander Russell Simpson, Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh

Sir Alexander Russell Simpson FRCPE FRSE LLD (1835–1916) was a Scottish physician who was Professor of Midwifery at the University of Edinburgh.[1]

He was inventor of the Axis-Traction Forceps also known as the Obstetrics Forceps which made great advances in easing childbirth and reducing the pain thereof.[2]

Life

He was born in Bathgate on 30 April 1835, the son of Alexander Simpson (1797–1877), and nephew of James Young Simpson. He was educated locally then studied Medicine primarily at Edinburgh University but with periods also at Montpellier, Berlin and Vienna, graduating MD in 1856.[3]

From 1865 to 1870 he operated a doctor's surgery in Glasgow at 1 Blythswood Square.[4] In 1870, on the death of his uncle, Prof James Young Simpson, he inherited his large townhouse at 52 Queen Street in Edinburgh[5] and returned to that city, also taking over his role at Edinburgh University as Professor of Midwifery.[6]

In 1871 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh his proposer being John Hutton Balfour. He was President of the Medico-Chirurgical Society in 1889 and President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh from 1891 to 1893.[7]

He was a member of the United Free Church of Scotland and helped to run the Carrubbers Close Mission. He was a strong supporter of the Temperance Movement.[8]

He retired in 1905.

He died in a road accident on 6 April 1916. He was buried in Grange Cemetery in the south of the city on 10 April.[9] The grave lies in the main south-west section.

Publications

  • On the Head Flexion in Labour (1879)
  • Contributions to Obstetrics and Gynaecology (1880)
  • Section on Obstetrics in 11th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica (1911)

Family

He married Margaret Stewart Barbour, sister of Prof Alexander Hugh Freeland Barbour.[10] She was an amateur author and wrote Awakings or Butterfly Chrysalids in 1892.[11]

Their children included James Young Simpson and George Freeland Barbour Simpson (1875–1958).

He was grandfather to the geographer Alexander Rudolph Barbour Simpson FRSE (d.1977).

He was paternal uncle to Thomas Blantyre Simpson FRSE QC.

Artistic Recognition

His sketch portait of 1884, by William Brassey Hole, is held by the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Sir Alexander Russell Simpson (1835-1916), Professor of midwifery at the University of Edinburgh". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  2. ↑ A. R. Simpson, M.D., F.R.C.P.Ed. (1900). "Scot Med Surg J 1900 V-7 | The Invention and Evolution of the Midwifery Forceps – The Inaugural Address to the Midland Medical Society at Birmingham on 26th October, 1900" (PDF). Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  3. ↑ Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783 – 2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0 902 198 84 X.
  4. ↑ Glasgow Post Office Directory 1867
  5. ↑ Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1911–12
  6. ↑ "Sir Alexander Russell Simpson, Kt., M.D., D.Sc.(Hon. Causa), Ll.D., Emeritus Professor Of Midwifery And The Diseases Of Women And Children In The University Of Edinburgh". The British Medical Journal. 1 (2885): 572–574. 1916. JSTOR 25316614.
  7. ↑ Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783 – 2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0 902 198 84 X.
  8. ↑ "SIR ALEXANDER RUSSELL SIMPSON, Kt., M.D., D.Sc.(Hon. Causa), LL.D". Br Med J. 1 (2885): 572–574. 1916. doi:10.1136/bmj.1.2885.572. PMC 2347917.
  9. ↑ Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783 – 2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0 902 198 84 X.
  10. ↑ Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783 – 2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0 902 198 84 X.
  11. ↑ Simpson, A.R. (1892). Awakings Or Butterfly Chrysalids. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  12. ↑ https://www.nationalgalleries.org/search?object_types%5B29864%5D=29864&object_types%5B29875%5D=29875&periods%5B17%5D=17&periods%5B18%5D=18&periods%5B19%5D=19&page=12
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