John Neish Ritchie

Sir John Neish Ritchie FRSE FZS PRCVS CB LLD (1904–1977) was a 20th-century Scottish veterinarian who rose to the top of his profession.[1]

Life

He was born in Turriff in north-east Scotland on 19 January 1904 the youngest son of John Neish Ritchie, a general merchant, and his wife Annie Watson. He was educated at Turriff Higher Grade School. He then studied at the Royal Dick Veterinary College in Edinburgh graduating in 1925, then did postgraduate studies at Edinburgh University gaining a BSc in 1927.[2]

After a period in private practice he joined the staff of the Department of Agriculture in 1938 and rose to be Chief Veterinary Officer in 1952.

In 1957 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Sir William Weipers, Robert Garry, James Norman Davidson and William McGregor Mitchell.[3]

He was created a Commander of the Bath in 1955 and knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1961. He was President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1959. In 1965 he was appointed Principal of the Royal Veterinary College in London holding the post until retiral in 1970.

He died in Aberdeen on 28 September 1977.

Family

In 1930 he married Florina Margaret Drummond (d.1975). Their children included the architect James Watson Ritchie.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Sir John Neish Ritchie - Person - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk.
  2. ↑ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: John Neish Ritchie
  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. ↑ Goold, David. "Dictionary of Scottish Architects - DSA Architect Biography Report (March 23, 2018, 10:47 pm)". www.scottisharchitects.org.uk.


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