Sir Richard Doll

Born: 28/10/1912
Died: 24/07/2005

The death, aged 92, of Sir Richard Doll on July 24th, 2005 robbed the world of one of its greatest benefactors and the medical profession of one of its modern giants.

The son of a GP, Doll was educated at Westminster School and St Thomas’s Hospital, graduating in 1937. During his war service he developed a tuberculosis kidney but had successful surgery, allowing him to pursue his chosen career of ‘prevention rather than cure’. He first researched asthma before joining Francis Avery Jones’ unit at the Central Middlesex Hospital looking at peptic ulceration His attachment to Sir Austen Bradford-Hill’s statistical research unit of the Medical Research Council led to him becoming a member, then deputy director and director of that unit over 21 years. His research demonstrating the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer must have saved thousands if not millions of lives worldwide. Other research topics included the effect of alcohol on unborn babies and side effects of the birth pill.

He was Regius Professor of Medicine, Oxford University 1969- 79, served as vice-president of the Royal Society 1970-71, was knighted in 1971 and made a Companion of Honour in 1996, as well as receiving innumerable international honours and no less than 13 honorary degrees.

Until her death in 2001 he was wonderfully supported by his wife, Dr Joan Faulkner, especially in his efforts to establish Green College. Described as ‘tall, slim, patrician in bearing and often sharply critical,’ he could be formidable but at the same time had a great sense of humour. He will be remembered as a great doctor and the greatest epidemiologist of our time.

Back

Dr Alastair Donald was the archetypal General Practitioner. Born: above his father’s surgery in Leith, his future as a third generation General Practitioner could have been predicted but not his leading role in the renaissance of General Practice in the UK in the 1960’s.

In 1954 he became a Founder Associate of the newly established Royal College of General Practitioners and so embarked on a career in education for this branch of medicine. The key role Alastair played was to harness the disparate and sometimes mercurial talents of others to create and establish high quality postgraduate training programmes for General Practice across the country. Through his Lectureship in the first University Department of General Practice in the world at Edinburgh University, his appointment as the first Postgraduate Adviser in General Practice in South-East Scotland, and his subsequent election as Chairman then President of the Royal College Of General Practitioners, he used his considerable negotiating skills to advance the cause of education in and for General Practice.

His many achievements were recognised by the Honours of OBE in 1982 and CBE in 1992. By the profession he was awarded the James Mackenzie Medal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, the Hippocrates Medal of the European Society of General Practice, and the Foundation Council Award of the Royal College of General Practitioners in 1997, recognising his lifetime of service to the care of his patients and to the advancement of General Practice.

Contributed by EG Buckley

Back