James Scarth Combe
James Scarth Combe
Early life and education
Combe came from a family of brewers based in Edinburgh and appears to have been second cousin to George and Andrew Combe, who come from the same brewing family.
He was born in
Medical career
Combe appears to have taken an early interest in diseases of the blood, presenting a case of anaemia to the Edinburgh Medico-Chirurgical Society in 1822. In 1824 he published this in detail in a paper entitled History of a Case of Anaemia.
In 1827 he was elected a member of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh.[5][6]
In 1828 Combe published a paper in the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal entitled "On the Poisonous effects of the Mussel, Mytius Edlulis", looking at the issue of accumulation of toxins in molluscs. At this time the mussel beds of the Firth of Forth were dangerously close to the sewage outlets of the city of Edinburgh.
Around 1829 he travelled to India to treat and study
He moved from 27 Charlotte Street
In 1843 he was elected a member of the Aesculapian Club.[10] He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1850, his proposer being Robert Christison. He succeeded James Syme as President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1851 and was succeeded in 1853 by Dr Archibald Inglis.[3]
Combe died on 14 February 1883 at his home 36 York Place, Edinburgh.[11][12] He is buried with his wife in Warriston Cemetery in north Edinburgh. The grave, marked by a tall slim obelisk, lies slightly south of the central vaults.
Family
In 1824 Combe married Anne Thomson (1798-1875). They had one daughter, Margaret, who married the surgeon James Simson, who, like his father-in-law, became President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.[3] They had three sons Matthew, who became an army surgeon, Charles[3] and James (1833-1877).[13]
References
- ^ "Former RSE Fellows. 1783-2002" (PDF). Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
- ^ a b "History of Leith, Edinburgh". leithhistory.co.uk.
- ^ PMC 5301790.
- ^ Combe JS (1824). History of a case of anaemia. Transcripts of the Medical-Chirurgical Society, Edinburgh 1:193–98.
- ^ Watson Wemyss, Herbert Lindesay (1933). A Record of the Edinburgh Harveian Society. T&A Constable, Edinburgh.
- ^ Minute Books of the Harveian Society. Library of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
- ISBN 0-7073-0584-5
- ^ Medico-Chirurgical Review and Journal of Medical Science, Vol. 35, 1839.
- ^ Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1840-1
- ^ Minute Books of the Aesculapian Club. Library of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
- ^ "Whitton and Ritch Genealogy from Scotland". robertwhitton.eu.
- ^ Edinburgh and Leith Post Office directory 1880-1
- ^ Combe grave, Warriston Cemetery