George Newman (doctor)
Encyclopedia
Sir George Newman GBE
, KCB
(23 October 1870, Leominster
, Herefordshire
- 26 May 1948) was an English
public health
physician
, Quaker, the first Chief Medical Officer to the Ministry of Health in England, and wrote a seminal treatise on the social problems causing infant mortality
.
in North Somerset
(1881–1885) and then at the Quaker Bootham School
in York
(1885–1887). He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh
and then King's College London
before gaining his MD (winning the gold medal) and then becoming a demonstrator in bacteriology and lecturer in infectious diseases at King's. In 1900 he became Medical Officer to the Borough of Finsbury
in inner London and rural county of Bedfordshire
in England
. His experiences in these posts led him to publish Infant Mortality: a Social Problem in 1906. This has remained a medical classic, pointing out the unchanged infant mortality rate over the preceding 50 years, and identifying the causes and areas potentially open to intervention. In 1907 he became the Chief Medical Officer to the Board of Education, and in 1919 he also was appointed as Chief Medical Officer to the Ministry of Health. The annual reports he wrote for both these posts were widely acclaimed as important and influential
He was the fourth of six children, and initially planned to become a missionary, but later decided to study medicine starting in Edinburgh and then at King's College London
. After qualifying he undertook postgraduate studies; he studied for his MD at Edinburgh, receiving the gold medal for his year, before winning a scholarship to study public health and gaining his Diploma in Public Health in 1895. In August 1898,he married Adelaide Constance Thorp, who was an artist; they had no children. They lived at Harrow Weald after he retired in 1935. On 26 May 1948 he died at The Retreat
, York.
was the Permanent Secretary to the UK Government's Board of Education when, in 1907, he appointed Newman as Chief Medical Officer to the Board. In 1923 Newman was invited to give an address to the centenary celebrations of his old school, Bootham, in York. He referred to Alcuin
, an eighth century educator and deacon whose three guiding principles were: holy living and holy learning; teaching understanding rather than repetition; and, finally, that education should be 'wisely and liberally furnished'. Newman believed that Quaker schools, such as Bootham, embodied these principles. He maintained an interest in medical education, and in 1923 he wrote Recent Advances in Medical Education.
, which provided medical care for soldiers and civilians in the war zone, and following the introduction of conscription in 1916 he helped to negotiate exemptions for Quakers serving with the ambulance unit.
GBE
GBE or Gbe may refer to:* Gbe languages, a group of languages in West Africa* Gigabit ethernet, a term for transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of a gigabit per second* Government business enterprise...
, KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(23 October 1870, Leominster
Leominster
Leominster is a market town in Herefordshire, England, located approximately north of the city of Hereford and south of Ludlow, at...
, Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
- 26 May 1948) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, Quaker, the first Chief Medical Officer to the Ministry of Health in England, and wrote a seminal treatise on the social problems causing infant mortality
Infant mortality
Infant mortality is defined as the number of infant deaths per 1000 live births. Traditionally, the most common cause worldwide was dehydration from diarrhea. However, the spreading information about Oral Re-hydration Solution to mothers around the world has decreased the rate of children dying...
.
Introduction
George Newman was educated at Sidcot SchoolSidcot School
Sidcot School is a British co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils, associated with the Religious Society of Friends. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England....
in North Somerset
North Somerset
North Somerset is a unitary authority in England. Its area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the town hall in Weston-super-Mare....
(1881–1885) and then at the Quaker Bootham School
Bootham School
Bootham School is an independent Quaker boarding school in the city of York in North Yorkshire, England. It was founded by the Religious Society of Friends in 1823. It is close to York Minster. The current headmaster is Jonathan Taylor. The school's motto Membra Sumus Corporis Magni means "We...
in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
(1885–1887). He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
and then King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
before gaining his MD (winning the gold medal) and then becoming a demonstrator in bacteriology and lecturer in infectious diseases at King's. In 1900 he became Medical Officer to the Borough of Finsbury
Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury
The Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury was a Metropolitan borough within the County of London from 1900 to 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Islington to form the London Borough of Islington.- Boundaries :...
in inner London and rural county of Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. His experiences in these posts led him to publish Infant Mortality: a Social Problem in 1906. This has remained a medical classic, pointing out the unchanged infant mortality rate over the preceding 50 years, and identifying the causes and areas potentially open to intervention. In 1907 he became the Chief Medical Officer to the Board of Education, and in 1919 he also was appointed as Chief Medical Officer to the Ministry of Health. The annual reports he wrote for both these posts were widely acclaimed as important and influential
Biography
George Newman was the son of Henry Stanley Newman and Mary Ann Pumphrey. His father was a Quaker who undertook several missionary journeys, including one to India, and edited The Friend, a Quaker journal.He was the fourth of six children, and initially planned to become a missionary, but later decided to study medicine starting in Edinburgh and then at King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
. After qualifying he undertook postgraduate studies; he studied for his MD at Edinburgh, receiving the gold medal for his year, before winning a scholarship to study public health and gaining his Diploma in Public Health in 1895. In August 1898,he married Adelaide Constance Thorp, who was an artist; they had no children. They lived at Harrow Weald after he retired in 1935. On 26 May 1948 he died at The Retreat
The Retreat
The Retreat, commonly known as the York Retreat, is a place in England for the treatment of people with mental health needs. Located in Lamel Hill in York, it operates as a not for profit charitable organisation....
, York.
Education
Sir Robert MorantRobert Laurie Morant
Sir Robert Laurie Morant was an English administrator and educationalist He was educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford....
was the Permanent Secretary to the UK Government's Board of Education when, in 1907, he appointed Newman as Chief Medical Officer to the Board. In 1923 Newman was invited to give an address to the centenary celebrations of his old school, Bootham, in York. He referred to Alcuin
Alcuin
Alcuin of York or Ealhwine, nicknamed Albinus or Flaccus was an English scholar, ecclesiastic, poet and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Archbishop Ecgbert at York...
, an eighth century educator and deacon whose three guiding principles were: holy living and holy learning; teaching understanding rather than repetition; and, finally, that education should be 'wisely and liberally furnished'. Newman believed that Quaker schools, such as Bootham, embodied these principles. He maintained an interest in medical education, and in 1923 he wrote Recent Advances in Medical Education.
Public Health
His initial contribution, Infant Mortality: a Social Problem, was the forerunner of many writings about public health which proved respected and influential, including: Hygiene and Public Health in 1917, Outline of the Practice of Preventative Medicine in 1919, The Rise of Preventative Medicine in 1932, and The Building of the Nation’s Health in 1939. His annual reports as the Chief Medical Officer to the Ministry of Health were eagerly awaited each year, and were widely regarded as authoritative monographs on a variety of aspects of this field.Professional Honours
- Member (treasurer) of the General Medical CouncilGeneral Medical CouncilThe General Medical Council registers and regulates doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It has the power to revoke or restrict a doctor's registration if it deems them unfit to practise...
(Crown nominee) - 1911 knighted
- 1918 appointed KCB Knight Commander of the Order of BathOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
- 1935 appointed GBE Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
- Honorary degrees: DScDoctor of ScienceDoctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
(University of OxfordUniversity of OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
), DCLDoctor of Civil LawDoctor of Civil Law is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws degrees....
(Durham UniversityDurham UniversityThe University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
), LLD (University of LondonUniversity of London-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, University of EdinburghUniversity of EdinburghThe University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, McGill UniversityMcGill UniversityMohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
, University of TorontoUniversity of TorontoThe University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, University of GlasgowUniversity of GlasgowThe University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
, and University of LeedsUniversity of LeedsThe University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
) - Honorary Freeman of the Society of Apothecaries, LondonWorshipful Society of ApothecariesThe Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Originally, apothecaries were members of the Grocers' Company and before this members of the Guild of Pepperers formed in London in 1180...
- Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
- Fellow of King's College, LondonKing's College LondonKing's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
- Honorary Fellow of the New York Academy of MedicineNew York Academy of MedicineThe New York Academy of Medicine was founded in 1847 by a group of leading New York City metropolitan area physicians as a voice for the medical profession in medical practice and public health reform...
- Bisset Hawkins medal of the Royal College of Physicians (1935)
- Fothergill gold medal of the Medical Society of London.
Quaker
He was born into a Quaker family and remained a committed Christian throughout his life. From 1899, he was the (anonymous) editor of the Friends' Quarterly Examiner, a Quaker journal, for some forty years. In autumn 1914 he became involved in the establishment of the Friends' Ambulance UnitFriends' Ambulance Unit
The Friends' Ambulance Unit was a volunteer ambulance service, founded by individual members of the British Religious Society of Friends , in line with their Peace Testimony. The FAU operated from 1914–1919, 1939–1946 and 1946-1959 in 25 different countries around the world...
, which provided medical care for soldiers and civilians in the war zone, and following the introduction of conscription in 1916 he helped to negotiate exemptions for Quakers serving with the ambulance unit.
Publications
- A Century of Medicine at PaduaPaduaPadua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
. (1922) - A Quaker Centenary. An address delivered at the ... centenary of Bootham School, York, etc. (1923)
- A Special Report on an Infants' Milk Depot established under the auspices of the Finsbury Social Workers' Association. (1905)
- An Outline of the Practice of Preventive Medicine. A memorandum (New edition.)(1926.)
- Bacteria. Especially as they are related to the economy of nature, to industrial processes and to the public health. [Second edition, with additional matter, including new chapters on Tropical Diseases and the Bacterial Treatment of Sewage.] (1900)
- Bacteriology and the Public Health ... Illustrated. Third edition [of “Bacteria in Relation to the Economy of Nature”] (1904)
- Bakehouses in Finsbury. A special report under the Factory and Workshop Act, 1901, Sections 97-102. (1902)
- British Medical Association, Oxford, 1904. State Medicine Section. The Control of the Milk Supply ... Reprinted from the “British Medical Journal,” etc. (pp. 24. British Medical Association: London, 1904.)
- The Building of a Nation's Health. (1939)
- Citizenship and the Survival of Civilization. (1928)
- The Commemoration of Florence NightingaleFlorence NightingaleFlorence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
. An oration delivered ... before the general meeting of the International Council of Nurses. London, July 1937 - The disciples of BoerhaaveHerman BoerhaaveHerman Boerhaave was a Dutch botanist, humanist and physician of European fame. He is regarded as the founder of clinical teaching and of the modern academic hospital. His main achievement was to demonstrate the relation of symptoms to lesions...
in Edinburgh. An address delivered at the bi-centenary celebration of the foundation of the Medical Faculty in the University of Edinburgh on 11 June 1926 ... Reprinted from the Edinburgh Medical Journal, etc. (1926) - English Social Services (1941)
- The foundations of national health. The Sir Charles Hastings lecture, 1928.
- George FoxGeorge FoxGeorge Fox was an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends.The son of a Leicestershire weaver, Fox lived in a time of great social upheaval and war...
, the Founder of Quakerism. (1924) - Health and Social Evolution. (1931)
- The Health of the State. (1907)
- WHITELEGGE, Benjamin Arthur, Hygiene and Public Health ... New edition, revised, enlarged and in great part rewritten by George Newman. (1908)
- Infant Mortality. A social problem. (1906)
- Influenza vaccine. Instructions to medical officers of health. (1919)
- Interpreters of Nature. Essays. (1927)
- Lord Shaftesbury's Legacy to the Children of England. (1930)
- Memorandum on prevention of influenza. (1919)
- On the History of the Decline and Final Extinction of LeprosyLeprosyLeprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
as an endemic disease in the British Islands. (1895) - The Place of Public Opinion in Preventive Medicine. (Lecture.) (1920)
- The Private Practitioner as Pioneer in Preventive Medicine. Being the annual oration of the Hunterian SocietyHunterian SocietyThe Hunterian Society, founded in 1819 in honour of the Scottish surgeon John Hunter , is a society of physicians and dentists based in London....
: 1926 - Public education in health. A memorandum addressed to the Minister of Health.(1924)
- Quaker Profiles. (1946)
- Recent advances in medical education in England. A memorandum addressed to the Minister of Health. (1923)
- Report on the Milk Supply of FinsburyFinsburyFinsbury is a district of central London, England. It lies immediately north of the City of London and Clerkenwell, west of Shoreditch, and south of Islington and City Road. It is in the south of the London Borough of Islington. The Finsbury Estate is in the western part of the district...
, 1903 ... (1903) - The Rise of Preventive Medicine. (1932)
- Some Notes on Adult EducationAdult educationAdult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
in England. (1930) - Thomas SydenhamThomas SydenhamThomas Sydenham was an English physician. He was born at Wynford Eagle in Dorset, where his father was a gentleman of property. His brother was Colonel William Sydenham. Thomas fought for the Parliament throughout the English Civil War, and, at its end, resumed his medical studies at Oxford...
, reformer of English medicine. (1924)
Further reading
- Sir George Newman (1870–1948). Storey GO, Smith H. J Med Biogr. 2005 Feb;13(1):31-8.
- Obituary. Sir George Newman. Lancet 1948;i:888–9.
- Obituary. Sir George Newman. BMJ 1948;i:1112–13.
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography article by Steve Sturdy, "Newman, Sir George (1870–1948)",http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/35215, accessed 26 Feb 2007.