Famous Freemasons - Sir James Young Simpson
SIR JAMES YOUNG SIMPSON (1811-1870)
Food For Thought
If ever there was a famous freemason that was the perfect example of the Masonic ideals of Brotherly, Love and Truth it has to be James (Young) Simpson.
There are times when a biography is being prepared that one is lost for words to describe the man, his life and his family. In trying to write about James Young Simpson I find that this is such a time. The most compelling description comes from those who knew the man, and the sphere of life that made him famous.
Brotherly Love
On the strength of Simpson's early school performances and his aptitude for study, his family followed the wish of his late mother, and pooled their resources tp pay for his University fees so that James might obtain more education-a common practice among poor Scottish families at that time. The repayment of which he made at the earliest opportunity.
Relief
Simpson combined intellectual brilliance with compassion. Distraught after witnessing the practice of surgery without anaesthesia, Simpson wrote of "that great principle of emotion which both impels us to feel sympathy at the sight of suffering in any fellow creature, and at the same time imparts to us delight and gratification in the exercise of any power by which we can mitigate and alleviate that suffering."
Professor Simpson, the apostle of chloroform anaesthesia, was a passionate opponent of pain and its apologists as long as he lived. His medical contributions extended beyond obstetric anaesthesia. Simpson pioneered the uterine sound, long forceps, wire sutures, and improved statistical analysis of operative outcomes. When he died in 1870, over 30,000 mourners lined the streets of Edinburgh
Truth
In his application to become Professor of midwifery, Simpson told the council that his lack of reputation did not matter, because, once appointed, he would quickly rise to the top of his profession.
In religion Simpson was a devout adherent of the Free Church of Scotland, but he refused to sign the Westminster Confession of Faith, because of what he believed to be its literal interpretation of the book of Genesis.
Early on in the use of anaethesia Simpson was condemned by churchmen for contravening the will of God. However, the Bible furnished Simpson with the most powerful argument of all for anaesthetics in Genesis ii. 21, where it is written: “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and he slept; and He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof.” He strengthened his position by explaining that the word rendered “deep sleep” might more correctly be translated “coma” or “lethargy.” He had taken the full measure of his opponents when he answered them with this quotation; it was a reply characteristic of the man, and completely defeated these self-constituted theologians with their own weapons. They had attacked him as a man of science, and found that his knowledge of the Scriptures excelled their own. He did not fail to read these people a lesson, and point out the harm done to true religion by such conduct and arguments as theirs, reminding them that if God had willed pain to be irremovable no possible device of man could ever have removed it.
A CONDENSED BIOGRAPHY OF SIR JAMES YOUNG SIMPSON
James Simpson was born in Bathgate, West Lothian much the youngest of eight children, Thomas, John, Alexander, David, George (who died young), George and a sister Mary. His parents were Mary Jarvey and David Simpson, a baker in Bathgate. His father, David, had just escaped the clutches of the Press Gang in London by seconds when a young man (such is the present due to the fate of past events).
James received his initial education at the local school, where his first teacher marvelled at his ability to learn and remember when James was only 4 years old. Because of his obvious abilities his father and brothers, at his late mother's wish, (she died when he was 9), together paid for a College education and he entered the University of Edinburgh when he was 14 years old. Such is the power of Brotherly Love.
James passed his medical exams in 1830, but was to young to practise medicine. He graduated at the first opportunity in 1832. He used those two years well, becoming an assistant to Professor Thomson (Pathology). It was around this time he joined the lodge in Bathgate.
After graduation he took a European study tour before settling down to his own practice in 1835. This was also the year that he was elected Senior President of the Medical Society in Edinburgh. He was an immensely likeable person with a great bedside manner, and his practice grew quickly.
In 1836 he obtained a position at the Lying-in Hospital, Leith, and in 1837 he began his search for methods to alleviate the pain of surgery. It was around this time that he first tried Mesmerism (Hypnotism).
In 1838 his ever inventive mind designed the “Air tractor', the first vacuum extractor to assist in childbirth. It took a hundred years before it could be fully utilised. He was later to design the Simpson Forceps which are the standard for childbirth even today.
James Simpson was born in Bathgate, West Lothian much the youngest of eight children, Thomas, John, Alexander, David, George (who died young), George and a sister Mary. His parents were Mary Jarvey and David Simpson, a baker in Bathgate. His father, David, had just escaped the clutches of the Press Gang in London by seconds when a young man (such is the present due to the fate of past events).
James received his initial education at the local school, where his first teacher marvelled at his ability to learn and remember when James was only 4 years old. Because of his obvious abilities his father and brothers, at his late mother's wish, (she died when he was 9), together paid for a College education and he entered the University of Edinburgh when he was 14 years old. Such is the power of Brotherly Love.
James passed his medical exams in 1830, but was to young to practise medicine. He graduated at the first opportunity in 1832. He used those two years well, becoming an assistant to Professor Thomson (Pathology). It was around this time he joined the lodge in Bathgate.
After graduation he took a European study tour before settling down to his own practice in 1835. This was also the year that he was elected Senior President of the Medical Society in Edinburgh. He was an immensely likeable person with a great bedside manner, and his practice grew quickly.
In 1836 he obtained a position at the Lying-in Hospital, Leith, and in 1837 he began his search for methods to alleviate the pain of surgery. It was around this time that he first tried Mesmerism (Hypnotism).
In 1838 his ever inventive mind designed the “Air tractor', the first vacuum extractor to assist in childbirth. It took a hundred years before it could be fully utilised. He was later to design the Simpson Forceps which are the standard for childbirth even today.
In 1839 he applied to become the Professor of Midwifery at Edinburgh. After writing to a very large number of dignatories. He won the post by one vote, the narrowest of margins. He also married Jessie Grindlay in December that year, a couple of months before he took up his appointment in the first quarter of 1840.
In 1841 he paid off the last of his debt to his brothers for his education.
In 1843 he joined the Free Church movement, for he was a very religious man. He even participated in the March down Tanfield. However, he did not believe in the literal translation of the philosophy of the Creation.
In 1845 he bought the house he was to live in, and practice from, for the rest of his life. This despite his willingness to forego charging those unable to afford his cost. His waiting rooms were always full, and on occasion more than 50 people would stretch out into the street. Despite tending to the poor during his life he was always patronised by the wealthy and ladies of society so great was the respect they held him in. In that year he even travelled to London to attend a “future Duchess”, and found Society company no barrier to socialising.
In 1846 news of the use of Ether for anaesthesia from America was hailed by Simpson as a breakthrough. Ever since the first operation he had attended he had wanted an anaesthetic for the relief of a patients pain. However, ether had several disadvantages such as giving the patients coughing fits, and requiring large amounts. So James Young Simpson along with some of his fellow doctors searched for alternatives. In 1847 he was given some Chloroform to test, and the account recorded of that experiment proves interesting reading.
Needless to say Chloroform had few of the problems of Ether, however it was very potent, and had the major drawback in that an overdose was lethal. Although James Young Simpson lost no patients, other less skilled practitioners were not so lucky. The potency was to prove a benefit in the American Civil War where doctors could carry an ample supply for many operations, where they would have had no hope of doing so with ether.
In 1847 he introduced Chloroform for childbirth. This writer's Great Great Grandmother was the first woman to give birth under anaethesia induced by the drug. His use of anaesthesia in childbirth started a war of words with the church, which believed that the bible states that women must suffer the pain of childbirth. Simpson was a very religious man, and an avid student of the bible and quoted that portion of the Book of Genisis, when God put Adam to sleep and removed a rib to make Eve. That according to Simpson proved that anaesthesia was approved of on high.
In 1847 he was also appointed as one of Queen Victoria's physicians in Scotland
In 1850 he was elected the President of the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh.
However, it was not until 1853 when Queen Victoria gave birth to Prince Leopold, that the majority of negative attitudes were won over. The birth was after Simpson had proved by statistics that Chloroform anaesthesia was saving lives in hospitals.
1853 was also the year that the Imperial Academy of Medicine acclaimed James Young Simpson and Associate after being nominated from the floor of the convention. His nomination received universal support from the members, although it was less well received by some establishment figures.
However, there was no such reluctance in 1856 from the French Academy of Sciences who awarded him the prestigious Monthyon Prize for the most important benefits done for Humanity. Nor was there any from Sweden where he was awarded the Order of St. Olaf by the king, King Oscar I.
In 1857 Queen Victoria used Chloroform at the birth of Prince Beatrice.
In 1859 he invented what he called acupressure, to stop the flow of blood to wounds, and wrote a considerable volume on it and its use.
In 1863 he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish academy of Sciences.
In 1866 he was offered a Baronetcy in the New Year's honours, the first physician in Scotland to be so honoured. He was given the Freedom of the City of Edinburgh, and awarded an honourary degree at Oxford University. However, the year was also a sad one for him as his son, Davie and daughter, Jessie died.
In 1868 the public put him forward for Principal of Edinburgh University, rather against his will and he advised another for the post.
Simpson died in 1870, when many considered him to be among the most famous and influential physicians of the century. Estimates of thirty to one hundred thousand people filling the streets of Edinburgh for his funeral are given in newspaper reports, Two thousand people followed the hearse including representatives from the university, from the Colleges of Physicians and of Surgeons, and from other professional societies. An announcement in the Medical Times Gazette read, "One of our greatest men has passed from amongst us; Simpson is dead!"
The Lancet published "Prometheus," a poem dedicated to Simpson. Friends placed a memorial in Westminster Abbey, commissioned a larger-than-life statue to be erected on Princess Street, and attached a brass plaque to the door of his house at 52 Queen Street. The memorial, statue, house, and plaque remain.
James Young Simpson throughout his life from a University Student, through graduation, newly appointed Professor, caring specialist, to celebrated medical innovator at the service of medical experts from around the world
Simpson Air Tractor demonstrated on a ballon for a baby's head, and the long lasting Simpson forceps
JAMES SIMPSON THE MAN
A stark list of facts gives a narrow view of any man, and especially a man such as Simpson, and it is through the writing of contemporaries, experts in his field, and the stories that they tell that an idea of this great man's character can be formed. There are a huge number of sources available with a simple search on Google - a few of which I quote from here. However the reader should access the personal history by his daughter and download the PDF file to read off line.
A stark list of facts gives a narrow view of any man, and especially a man such as Simpson, and it is through the writing of contemporaries, experts in his field, and the stories that they tell that an idea of this great man's character can be formed. There are a huge number of sources available with a simple search on Google - a few of which I quote from here. However the reader should access the personal history by his daughter and download the PDF file to read off line.
Simpson in his office, Wilhelmina Carstairs is "Saint Anaesthesia" the first person born under chloroform anaethesia, The bust of him in Westminster Abbey, and his statue in Edinburgh
QUOTES FROM
Sir James Young Simpson and Chloroform (1811-1870)
BY H. LAING GORDON
"Simpson's personality also impressed observers. Contemporaries described him as a man of immense physical energy, enthusiasm, and charm, mighty passions and strong beliefs. Some said that in conversation he had an almost hypnotic effect on both men and women. Simpson inspired great loyalty and affection but also great enmity.
_________
"Simpson's home in Edinburgh was a center of excitement and activity. No one, including the family and staff, ever knew how many he would bring home as last-minute dinner guests. He enmeshed friends and acquaintances in his projects."
_________
"It is hard to say how much longer women would have had to wait for anesthesia had it not been for Simpson's advocacy. He had the wit to recognize the potential of anesthesia, the courage to apply it to an old medical problem, a reputation that made others listen, and the persistence to see that his innovation took hold. He was aided by his charisma, a keen eye for publicity, and a talent for sensing the mood of patients and winning them to his cause."
_________
"His lectures speedily attracted students. Besides those who were entering the profession, grey-headed and grey-bearded men, whose student days had long since passed away, came to sit at the feet of this remarkable young man and hear the so recently despised subject dealt with in his own masterly, scientific manner. Conciseness, clearness, and directness characterised his delivery; while with illustration and anecdote he made his dull subject fascinatingly interesting. It was his custom to write out on a black-board notes of the subject on which he was about to speak - concise, pithy headings, which were hung up in the theatre and which he proceeded methodically to explain and enlarge upon. So successful were his efforts that even in the first session he was able to make the proud boast that his class was for the first time in its history the largest in the University, and this in spite of the fact that one of the leading professors altered his lecture hour to the same hour as Simpson's, with the purpose of injuring the attendance at Simpson's class."
_________
"With the improved position there came necessarily increased expenditure, which at first exceeded the income; he never stopped to consider the patients' circumstances or whether he was likely to be paid for his services"
_________
"'Oh that there were double twenty-four hours in the day,'" he sighed at a time when he was working at highest pressure, practising amongst peers, commoners, and cottagers alike, who all flocked to his residence or sent long distances for him. When Princess Marie of Baden, wife of the Duke of Hamilton, came under his special care in 1843 he felt that he was placed at the top of his profession in Scotland"
_________
"Late one evening, it was the 4th of November, 1847, on returning home after a weary day's labour, Dr. Simpson with his two friends and assistants, Drs. Keith and Duncan, sat down to their somewhat hazardous work in Dr. Simpson's dining-room. Having inhaled several substances, but without much effect, it occurred to Dr. Simpson to try a ponderous material which he had formerly set aside on a lumber-table, and which on account of its great weight he had hitherto regarded as of no likelihood whatever; that happened to be a small bottle of chloroform. It was searched for and recovered from beneath a heap of waste paper. And with each tumbler newly charged, the inhalers resumed their vocation. Immediately an unwonted hilarity seized the party--they became bright eyed, very happy, and very loquacious--expatiating on the delicious aroma of the new fluid. The conversation was of unusual intelligence, and quite charmed the listeners--some ladies of the family and a naval officer, brother-in-law of Dr. Simpson. But suddenly there was a talk of sounds being heard like those of a cotton mill louder and louder; a moment more and then all was quiet--and then crash! On awakening Dr. Simpson's first perception was mental--'This is far stronger and better than ether,' said he to himself. His second was to note that he was prostrate on the floor, and that among the friends about him there was both confusion and alarm. Hearing a noise he turned round and saw Dr. Duncan beneath a chair - his jaw dropped, his eyes staring, his head bent half under him; quite unconscious, and snoring in a most determined and alarming manner. More noise still and much motion. And then his eyes overtook Dr. Keith's feet and legs making valorous attempts to overturn the supper table, or more probably to annihilate everything that was on it. By and by Dr. Simpson having regained his seat, Dr. Duncan having finished his uncomfortable and unrefreshing slumber, and Dr. Keith having come to an arrangement with the table and its contents, the _sederunt_ was resumed. Each expressed himself delighted with this new agent, and its inhalation was repeated many times that night--one of the ladies gallantly taking her place and turn at the table--until the supply of chloroform was fairly exhausted."
The lady was Miss Petrie, a niece of Mrs. Simpson's; she folded her arms across her breast as she inhaled the vapour, and fell asleep crying, "I'm an angel! Oh, I'm an angel"! The party sat discussing their sensations, and the merits of the substance long after it was finished; they were unanimous in considering that at last something had been found to surpass ether."
_________
Great as was Simpson's contemporary fame, the chief part of it had its origin in his indescribable personal power over his fellows, and in his inexhaustible energy. When to these was added the reputation won by the discovery of chloroform's anaesthetic properties, he stood not only as the most famous physician of his day, but also as a man marked out for posthumous fame.
_________
The increased fame and greatly increased professional income which followed the successful struggle for anaesthesia did not affect Simpson's homely characteristics. He found time in the midst of it all to enjoy the pleasures of home in the society of those he loved best, and of intimate friends. He took a keen delight in quite the smallest enjoyments of the home circle.
_________
The last trip to the Continent, indeed his last real holiday, was taken in 1868, when he ran over to Rome. So public was the life he led, such matters of interest to his fellow-countrymen were his comings and goings, that the _Scotsman_ newspaper chronicled his doings, relating the sights and places of interest which he visited, and noting that his professional services were taken advantage of by many Roman citizens during the few days that he was there; and that if time had permitted a public reception would have been given to him. In all his foreign trips his object was to learn, not to teach; he followed Sir Isaac Newton's advice to Ashton, and let his discourse be more in queries than in assertions or disputings. He took care neither to seem much wiser nor much more ignorant than his company.
_________
Professor Simpson's versatility was remarkable. He turned from one subject to another and displayed a mastery over each; it was not merely the knowledge of principles which astonished but the intimate familiarity with details. He was able to discuss almost any subject in literature, science, politics, or theology with its leading exponent on equal terms. He had the power of patient listening as well as the gift of speech; more than that he had the ability to charm speech from others, of making each man reveal his inmost thoughts, betray his most cherished theories, or narrate his most stirring experiences; the most reticent man would not realise until he had left Simpson's presence, that in a brief interview, perhaps the first, he had told his greatest adventures, or laid bare his wildest aspirations before this student of mankind who was summarising his life and character as he spoke.
_________
In 1861 Simpson was president of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and delivered an address on the past and present work of archaeology which greatly stimulated antiquarian study in his country.
Amongst the honours which his antiquarian achievements brought upon him was that of being appointed Professor of Antiquities to the Royal Academy of Scotland; he was also elected a member of the Archaeological Societies of Athens, Nassau, and Copenhagen.
_________
We are told that he habitually put the following question to himself when contemplating a serious operation: "Am I conscientiously entitled to inflict deliberately upon my fellow-creature with my own hands the imminent and immediate chance of death for the problematic and prospective chance of his future improved health and prolonged life?" The fact that he habitually thus questioned himself is an evidence of the state of surgery at that time. Operations were undertaken only as a last resource to save life; the surgeon knew full well that he placed his patient in further peril merely by cutting through the skin, in a manner which has now happily become a thing of the past.
_________
An interesting episode pertaining to this period (election for Principal of Edinburgh University) was narrated by the Free Church minister of Newhaven. "The election," he wrote to Dr. Duns, "took place on a Monday, and it was on the Sabbath preceding, between sermons, that one of my people, a fisherman, called on me stating that his wife was apparently dying, but that she and all her friends were longing most intensely for a consultation with Sir James. I did not know well what to do, for I knew that his mind was likely to be very much harassed, and I shrank from adding to his troubles. But in the urgency of the case I wrote him a note simply stating that one of the best women in the town was at the point of death and longed for his help, leaving the matter without another word to himself. The result was that he came down immediately, spent three hours beside his patient, performed, I am told, miracles of skill, and did not leave her till the crisis was over. She would, I am assured, have died that evening, but she was one of the sincerest mourners at his funeral, and she still lives to bless his memory. After all was over he went into a friend's house and threw himself down on a sofa in a state of utter exhaustion. This was the way in which, without hope of fee or reward, and while others were waiting for him able to give him both, Sir James spent the evening preceding the election. Some will say it was no great matter after all. Why, for that part of it, neither was the cup of cold water which the dying Sir Philip Sidney passed from his own lips to those of a wounded soldier in greater agony than himself. But the incident is recalled whenever his name is mentioned as adding to the glory of the knight _sans peur et sans reproche_, and the incident I have mentioned in the Newhaven fisherman's house surely gives to Sir James a place beside him in the glorious order of chivalrous generosity."
_________
The funeral was one of the most remarkable ever witnessed in Scotland. It took place on May 13th in the presence of a crowd estimated to consist of thirty thousand persons. The hearse was followed by a representative procession comprising close upon two thousand persons. His own relatives assembled at 52, Queen Street, the general public and the Town Council in the Free Church of St. Luke, and the representatives of the University, the Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, and the Royal Society and 217 many other public bodies, in the Hall of the College of Physicians. At each of these meeting-places religious services were held. The whole city ceased to labour that afternoon in order to pay the last tribute to its dearly loved professor. The poor mourned in the crowd as deeply and genuinely as those with whom he had been closely associated in life mourned as they followed his remains in the procession. Every mourner grieved from a sense of personal loss, so deeply had his influence sunk down into the hearts of the people.
QUOTE FROM
What a Blessing She Had Chloroform
The Medical and Social Response to the Pain of Childbirth from 1800 to the Present
By DONALD CATON
Yale University Press
Simpson was an active participant in the debate. He not only introduced anesthesia to obstetrics but almost single-handedly effected its use, and for this he deserves great credit. Medical historians who assert that no other physician could have done this as quickly or as well cite his professional stature and extraordinary personality as factors critical in his success.
QUOTE FROM
http://factually.gizmodo.com/no-the-first-baby-born-under-anaesthesia-wasnt-named-a-1625208094
All this changed in November 1847, when Dr James Young Simpson, a Scottish obstetrician, began using chloroform as an anaesthetic. Earlier that year, Simpson started using ether to relieve the pains of childbirth, but he was dissatisfied with the smell, the large quantity needed, and the lung irritation it caused. Ether was also highly explosive, which made it dangerous to use in candlelit rooms heated by fireplaces. It was then that David Waldie, a chemist from Liverpool, recommended chloroform to Simpson.
ONE QUOTE FROM
Famous Scots series Book by Daughter Eve Blantyre Simpson
The first child born under its influence was the daughter of a medical contemporary of Professor Simpson's, and she was christened Anaesthesia to commemorate the fact, as the first child in all the Russias that was vaccinated was named Vaccinoff. Anaesthesia, when she grew to be sweet seventeen, was photographed, and sent her likeness to the Professor, above whose desk it hung, for he was very proud of chloroform's first-born. The initiatory public test of chloroform was held on the 15th November 1847, within the Infirmary, where James Simpson as a student had sickened at and shrunk from the sight of others' suff'ering.
A previous trial had been arranged for, but press of work detained my father from keeping his appointment, or the 'divinity which shapes our ends' had put obstacles in his way, for the operation went on without him, and the patient died on the first incision of the knife, so chloroform's reputation was saved.
Sir James Young Simpson and Chloroform (1811-1870)
BY H. LAING GORDON
"Simpson's personality also impressed observers. Contemporaries described him as a man of immense physical energy, enthusiasm, and charm, mighty passions and strong beliefs. Some said that in conversation he had an almost hypnotic effect on both men and women. Simpson inspired great loyalty and affection but also great enmity.
_________
"Simpson's home in Edinburgh was a center of excitement and activity. No one, including the family and staff, ever knew how many he would bring home as last-minute dinner guests. He enmeshed friends and acquaintances in his projects."
_________
"It is hard to say how much longer women would have had to wait for anesthesia had it not been for Simpson's advocacy. He had the wit to recognize the potential of anesthesia, the courage to apply it to an old medical problem, a reputation that made others listen, and the persistence to see that his innovation took hold. He was aided by his charisma, a keen eye for publicity, and a talent for sensing the mood of patients and winning them to his cause."
_________
"His lectures speedily attracted students. Besides those who were entering the profession, grey-headed and grey-bearded men, whose student days had long since passed away, came to sit at the feet of this remarkable young man and hear the so recently despised subject dealt with in his own masterly, scientific manner. Conciseness, clearness, and directness characterised his delivery; while with illustration and anecdote he made his dull subject fascinatingly interesting. It was his custom to write out on a black-board notes of the subject on which he was about to speak - concise, pithy headings, which were hung up in the theatre and which he proceeded methodically to explain and enlarge upon. So successful were his efforts that even in the first session he was able to make the proud boast that his class was for the first time in its history the largest in the University, and this in spite of the fact that one of the leading professors altered his lecture hour to the same hour as Simpson's, with the purpose of injuring the attendance at Simpson's class."
_________
"With the improved position there came necessarily increased expenditure, which at first exceeded the income; he never stopped to consider the patients' circumstances or whether he was likely to be paid for his services"
_________
"'Oh that there were double twenty-four hours in the day,'" he sighed at a time when he was working at highest pressure, practising amongst peers, commoners, and cottagers alike, who all flocked to his residence or sent long distances for him. When Princess Marie of Baden, wife of the Duke of Hamilton, came under his special care in 1843 he felt that he was placed at the top of his profession in Scotland"
_________
"Late one evening, it was the 4th of November, 1847, on returning home after a weary day's labour, Dr. Simpson with his two friends and assistants, Drs. Keith and Duncan, sat down to their somewhat hazardous work in Dr. Simpson's dining-room. Having inhaled several substances, but without much effect, it occurred to Dr. Simpson to try a ponderous material which he had formerly set aside on a lumber-table, and which on account of its great weight he had hitherto regarded as of no likelihood whatever; that happened to be a small bottle of chloroform. It was searched for and recovered from beneath a heap of waste paper. And with each tumbler newly charged, the inhalers resumed their vocation. Immediately an unwonted hilarity seized the party--they became bright eyed, very happy, and very loquacious--expatiating on the delicious aroma of the new fluid. The conversation was of unusual intelligence, and quite charmed the listeners--some ladies of the family and a naval officer, brother-in-law of Dr. Simpson. But suddenly there was a talk of sounds being heard like those of a cotton mill louder and louder; a moment more and then all was quiet--and then crash! On awakening Dr. Simpson's first perception was mental--'This is far stronger and better than ether,' said he to himself. His second was to note that he was prostrate on the floor, and that among the friends about him there was both confusion and alarm. Hearing a noise he turned round and saw Dr. Duncan beneath a chair - his jaw dropped, his eyes staring, his head bent half under him; quite unconscious, and snoring in a most determined and alarming manner. More noise still and much motion. And then his eyes overtook Dr. Keith's feet and legs making valorous attempts to overturn the supper table, or more probably to annihilate everything that was on it. By and by Dr. Simpson having regained his seat, Dr. Duncan having finished his uncomfortable and unrefreshing slumber, and Dr. Keith having come to an arrangement with the table and its contents, the _sederunt_ was resumed. Each expressed himself delighted with this new agent, and its inhalation was repeated many times that night--one of the ladies gallantly taking her place and turn at the table--until the supply of chloroform was fairly exhausted."
The lady was Miss Petrie, a niece of Mrs. Simpson's; she folded her arms across her breast as she inhaled the vapour, and fell asleep crying, "I'm an angel! Oh, I'm an angel"! The party sat discussing their sensations, and the merits of the substance long after it was finished; they were unanimous in considering that at last something had been found to surpass ether."
_________
Great as was Simpson's contemporary fame, the chief part of it had its origin in his indescribable personal power over his fellows, and in his inexhaustible energy. When to these was added the reputation won by the discovery of chloroform's anaesthetic properties, he stood not only as the most famous physician of his day, but also as a man marked out for posthumous fame.
_________
The increased fame and greatly increased professional income which followed the successful struggle for anaesthesia did not affect Simpson's homely characteristics. He found time in the midst of it all to enjoy the pleasures of home in the society of those he loved best, and of intimate friends. He took a keen delight in quite the smallest enjoyments of the home circle.
_________
The last trip to the Continent, indeed his last real holiday, was taken in 1868, when he ran over to Rome. So public was the life he led, such matters of interest to his fellow-countrymen were his comings and goings, that the _Scotsman_ newspaper chronicled his doings, relating the sights and places of interest which he visited, and noting that his professional services were taken advantage of by many Roman citizens during the few days that he was there; and that if time had permitted a public reception would have been given to him. In all his foreign trips his object was to learn, not to teach; he followed Sir Isaac Newton's advice to Ashton, and let his discourse be more in queries than in assertions or disputings. He took care neither to seem much wiser nor much more ignorant than his company.
_________
Professor Simpson's versatility was remarkable. He turned from one subject to another and displayed a mastery over each; it was not merely the knowledge of principles which astonished but the intimate familiarity with details. He was able to discuss almost any subject in literature, science, politics, or theology with its leading exponent on equal terms. He had the power of patient listening as well as the gift of speech; more than that he had the ability to charm speech from others, of making each man reveal his inmost thoughts, betray his most cherished theories, or narrate his most stirring experiences; the most reticent man would not realise until he had left Simpson's presence, that in a brief interview, perhaps the first, he had told his greatest adventures, or laid bare his wildest aspirations before this student of mankind who was summarising his life and character as he spoke.
_________
In 1861 Simpson was president of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and delivered an address on the past and present work of archaeology which greatly stimulated antiquarian study in his country.
Amongst the honours which his antiquarian achievements brought upon him was that of being appointed Professor of Antiquities to the Royal Academy of Scotland; he was also elected a member of the Archaeological Societies of Athens, Nassau, and Copenhagen.
_________
We are told that he habitually put the following question to himself when contemplating a serious operation: "Am I conscientiously entitled to inflict deliberately upon my fellow-creature with my own hands the imminent and immediate chance of death for the problematic and prospective chance of his future improved health and prolonged life?" The fact that he habitually thus questioned himself is an evidence of the state of surgery at that time. Operations were undertaken only as a last resource to save life; the surgeon knew full well that he placed his patient in further peril merely by cutting through the skin, in a manner which has now happily become a thing of the past.
_________
An interesting episode pertaining to this period (election for Principal of Edinburgh University) was narrated by the Free Church minister of Newhaven. "The election," he wrote to Dr. Duns, "took place on a Monday, and it was on the Sabbath preceding, between sermons, that one of my people, a fisherman, called on me stating that his wife was apparently dying, but that she and all her friends were longing most intensely for a consultation with Sir James. I did not know well what to do, for I knew that his mind was likely to be very much harassed, and I shrank from adding to his troubles. But in the urgency of the case I wrote him a note simply stating that one of the best women in the town was at the point of death and longed for his help, leaving the matter without another word to himself. The result was that he came down immediately, spent three hours beside his patient, performed, I am told, miracles of skill, and did not leave her till the crisis was over. She would, I am assured, have died that evening, but she was one of the sincerest mourners at his funeral, and she still lives to bless his memory. After all was over he went into a friend's house and threw himself down on a sofa in a state of utter exhaustion. This was the way in which, without hope of fee or reward, and while others were waiting for him able to give him both, Sir James spent the evening preceding the election. Some will say it was no great matter after all. Why, for that part of it, neither was the cup of cold water which the dying Sir Philip Sidney passed from his own lips to those of a wounded soldier in greater agony than himself. But the incident is recalled whenever his name is mentioned as adding to the glory of the knight _sans peur et sans reproche_, and the incident I have mentioned in the Newhaven fisherman's house surely gives to Sir James a place beside him in the glorious order of chivalrous generosity."
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The funeral was one of the most remarkable ever witnessed in Scotland. It took place on May 13th in the presence of a crowd estimated to consist of thirty thousand persons. The hearse was followed by a representative procession comprising close upon two thousand persons. His own relatives assembled at 52, Queen Street, the general public and the Town Council in the Free Church of St. Luke, and the representatives of the University, the Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, and the Royal Society and 217 many other public bodies, in the Hall of the College of Physicians. At each of these meeting-places religious services were held. The whole city ceased to labour that afternoon in order to pay the last tribute to its dearly loved professor. The poor mourned in the crowd as deeply and genuinely as those with whom he had been closely associated in life mourned as they followed his remains in the procession. Every mourner grieved from a sense of personal loss, so deeply had his influence sunk down into the hearts of the people.
QUOTE FROM
What a Blessing She Had Chloroform
The Medical and Social Response to the Pain of Childbirth from 1800 to the Present
By DONALD CATON
Yale University Press
Simpson was an active participant in the debate. He not only introduced anesthesia to obstetrics but almost single-handedly effected its use, and for this he deserves great credit. Medical historians who assert that no other physician could have done this as quickly or as well cite his professional stature and extraordinary personality as factors critical in his success.
QUOTE FROM
http://factually.gizmodo.com/no-the-first-baby-born-under-anaesthesia-wasnt-named-a-1625208094
All this changed in November 1847, when Dr James Young Simpson, a Scottish obstetrician, began using chloroform as an anaesthetic. Earlier that year, Simpson started using ether to relieve the pains of childbirth, but he was dissatisfied with the smell, the large quantity needed, and the lung irritation it caused. Ether was also highly explosive, which made it dangerous to use in candlelit rooms heated by fireplaces. It was then that David Waldie, a chemist from Liverpool, recommended chloroform to Simpson.
ONE QUOTE FROM
Famous Scots series Book by Daughter Eve Blantyre Simpson
The first child born under its influence was the daughter of a medical contemporary of Professor Simpson's, and she was christened Anaesthesia to commemorate the fact, as the first child in all the Russias that was vaccinated was named Vaccinoff. Anaesthesia, when she grew to be sweet seventeen, was photographed, and sent her likeness to the Professor, above whose desk it hung, for he was very proud of chloroform's first-born. The initiatory public test of chloroform was held on the 15th November 1847, within the Infirmary, where James Simpson as a student had sickened at and shrunk from the sight of others' suff'ering.
A previous trial had been arranged for, but press of work detained my father from keeping his appointment, or the 'divinity which shapes our ends' had put obstacles in his way, for the operation went on without him, and the patient died on the first incision of the knife, so chloroform's reputation was saved.
THE EDITOR'S PERSONAL INVOLVEMENT THROUGH HIS GREAT GRANDMOTHER
LADY ANAESTHESIA DAUGHTER OF DR. WILLIAM CARSTAIRS & JANE (nee MELDRUM)
A year later, on May 1 1843, then aged 46, he (Carstairs) married Miss Jane Meldrum at Craigfoodie, Dairsie.
Jane's first child was stillborn, after a terrible labour lasting three days that ended with the baby's head being broken up before it was extracted. She came home from India to have her second child in November 1847, and it was decided that she should consult Sir James Simpson, the famous obstetrician in Edinburgh. Jane went over to Edinburgh and stayed at 19 Albany Street until the baby was born.
Three hours after her pains started, Sir James gave her chloroform (the first time he had used it in an obstetrical case) and, as he states in his Notice of a New Anaesthetic Agent:
"By moistening with a half teaspoon of the liquid a pocket handkerchief rolled up into a funnel shape…. in consequence of the evaporation of the liquid it was once more renewed in about 10 or 12 minutes. The child was born in about 25 minutes after the inhalation was begun. The mother subsequently remained longer, I think stupporose, than commonly happens under ether. The squalling of the child did not arouse her and some minutes elapsed after the placenta was removed by the nurse into another room, before the patient awoke. She then turned and observed that she had enjoyed a very comfortable sleep and indeed required it as she was so tired (in consequence of extreme anxiety at the unfortunate result of her previous confinement she had slept little or none for one or two nights preceding the commencement of her present accouchement) but would now be more able for the work before her. I evaded entering into conversation with her, believing as I do that the most complete possible quietude forms one of the principle secrets for the successful employment of ether or chloroform. In a little time she again remarked that she was maid that her "sleep had stopped the pain." Shortly afterwards when the baby was brought in by the nurse from the adjoining room it was a matter of no small difficulty to convince the mother that the labour was entirely over and that the child presented to her was really her own living infant."
The child was a girl and her birth was registered in Fife, for November 9th. She was christened Wilhelmina on Christmas Day, 1847. Simpson sentimentally kept in touch with the child, and was sent a photograph of her at 17, taken by a friend John Adamson, a pioneer in photography. 31 Because of her pious expression, Simpson jokingly named the study "St. Anaesthesia" and always kept it above his desk.
(See "Simpson the Obstetrician", a biography of Sir James Y. published in 1972 by Victor Gollanz Ltd).
REFERENCES
MUST READ RECOMMENDATION
Famous Scots series book - giving an intimate family look at the great man (Large PDF file for reading on line or download)
Sir James Y Simpson by Daughter Eve Blantyre Simpson
SOURCE: http://www.electricscotland.com/history/other/sirjamesysimpson00simpuoft.pdf
Masters of Medicine series book - Very complete biography in Text, Epub, Kindle, PDF etc.
Sir James Young Simpson and Chloroform (1811-1870) by Henry Laing Gordon
SOURCE: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/34128/34128-h/34128-h.htm
OTHER REFERENCE - material not listed above
Wikipedia
James Young Simpson
SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Young_Simpson
Significat Scots
Sir James Young Simpson
SOURCE: http://www.electricscotland.co/history/other/simpson_james.htm