Sir James Young Simpson

Sir James Young Simpson, 1st Baronet was a Scottish obstetrician and a significant figure in the history of medicine. Simpson was first to demonstrate the anaesthetic properties of chloroform on humans and helped to popularise the drug for use in medicine. CareerSimpson completed his final examination at the age of 18 but, as he was so young, had to wait two years before he got his licence to practise medicine. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh Medical School in 1832 and as a student became a member and then Senior President of the Royal Medical Society, initiating a lifelong interest in the Society's advancement. In 1838 he designed the Air Tractor, the earliest known vacuum extractor to assist childbirth but the method did not become popular until the invention of the ventouse over a century later. At the age of 28 he succeeded Prof James Hamilton as Professor of Medicine and Midwifery at the University of Edinburgh. He improved the design of obstetric forceps that to this day are known in obstetric circles as "Simpson's Forceps". His most noted contribution was the introduction of anaesthesia to childbirth. Simpson's intellectual interests ranged from archaeology to an almost taboo subject at the time: hermaphroditism. He was a very early advocate of the use of midwives in the hospital environment. Many prominent women also consulted him for their gynaecological problems. Simpson wrote Homœopathy, its Tenets and Tendencies refuting the ideas put forward by Hahnemann.

Sir James Young Simpson, 1st Baronet was a Scottish obstetrician and a significant figure in the history of medicine. Simpson was first to demonstrate the anaesthetic properties of chloroform on humans and helped to popularise the drug for use in medicine. CareerSimpson completed his final examination at the age of 18 but, as he was so young, had to wait two years before he got his licence to practise medicine. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh Medical School in 1832 and as a student became a member and then Senior President of the Royal Medical Society, initiating a lifelong interest in the Society's advancement. In 1838 he designed the Air Tractor, the earliest known vacuum extractor to assist childbirth but the method did not become popular until the invention of the ventouse over a century later. At the age of 28 he succeeded Prof James Hamilton as Professor of Medicine and Midwifery at the University of Edinburgh. He improved the design of obstetric forceps that to this day are known in obstetric circles as "Simpson's Forceps". His most noted contribution was the introduction of anaesthesia to childbirth. Simpson's intellectual interests ranged from archaeology to an almost taboo subject at the time: hermaphroditism. He was a very early advocate of the use of midwives in the hospital environment. Many prominent women also consulted him for their gynaecological problems. Simpson wrote Homœopathy, its Tenets and Tendencies refuting the ideas put forward by Hahnemann.