John Glaister was a Scottish forensic scientist who worked as a general practitioner

General practitioner

A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...

, police

Police

The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

 surgeon

Surgeon

In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...

, and as a lecturer

Lecturer

Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...

 at Glasgow Royal Infirmary

Glasgow Royal Infirmary

The Glasgow Royal Infirmary is a large teaching hospital, operated by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde,. With a capacity of around 1000 beds, the hospital campus covers an area of around 20 acres, situated on the north-eastern edge of the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland.-History:Designed by Robert...

 Medical School and the University of Glasgow

University of Glasgow

The 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...

.

Glaister was born in Lanark

Lanark

Lanark is a small town in the central belt of Scotland. Its population of 8,253 makes it the 100th largest settlement in Scotland. The name is believed to come from the Cumbric Lanerc meaning "clear space, glade"....

 and attended the Lanark Grammar School

Lanark Grammar School

Lanark Grammar School is a secondary school in Lanark, Scotland. It was founded in 1183, and celebrated its octocentenary in 1983, including a visit by The Princess Anne. Notable former pupils include rally driver Colin McRae and General William Roy, a contributor to the Ordnance Survey project...

 there. In 1873, he enrolled to the Faculty of Medicine of Glasgow University. After graduating, he became a police surgeon and a general practitioner in Townhead. In 1881, he was appointed a lecturer in Medical Jurisprudence at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary Medical School, and in 1887 a Special Lecturer in Public Health. In 1889 he was promoted to Professor of Forensic Medicine and Public Health, which post he held until 1931. In 1902, he published his most famous work, A Textbook of Medical Jurisprudence, Toxicology and Public Health. He was also noted as an expert witness in widely publicised legal cases such as the trial of Oscar Slater

Oscar Slater

Oscar Joseph Slater was a victim of British miscarriage of justice. He was born Oscar Leschziner in Oppeln, Upper Silesia, Germany to a Jewish family. Around 1893, to evade military service, he moved to London where he worked as a bookmaker using various names, including Anderson, before settling...

in 1909.