James Struthers

James Struthers was born in Brucefield, near Dunfermline, in 1821, the eldest of three sons of Alexander Struthers. Both of his brothers, Alexander and John, also entered the medical profession. He received his MD from Edinburgh in 1848 and, following graduation, worked as a demonstrator of anatomy at the Edinburgh Extramural School of Medicine and at the Royal Infirmary during the typhus and cholera epidemics of 1847-1848. In 1849 he took over a practice in Leith from Dr Bruce, who died shortly thereafter. Struthers played a significant role in the development of Leith Hospital, serving as Acting Medical Officer from 1850 to 1876, later becoming Consulting Physician and, in 1890, President of the hospital. He died at home in Edinburgh on 6 June 1891.