death_date birth_place image_size nationality field birth_date image article_title name
19 april 1932 hobart , tasmania 230px united kingdom bacteriology 14 december 1852 watson cheyne2.jpg watson cheyne
 sir william watson cheyne , bt
watson cheyne

sir william watson cheyne , 1st baronet kcmg cb frcs frs -lrb- 14 december 1852 -- 19 april 1932 -rrb- was a british surgeon and bacteriologist , who pioneered the use of antiseptic surgical methods in the united kingdom .
cheyne was born at sea off hobart , tasmania .
his father , andrew cheyne , was the eldest of two illegitimate children born to james cheyne , brother to the laird of tangwick , john cheyne .
he grew up at the haa of tangwick in northmavine , and went to sea around the age of twelve , rising to command a brig in the far east at the age of 22 .
his mother eliza , the daughter of the rev. william watson , died in 1856 , leaving willam cheyne to be brought up by his grandfather , the rev. william watson , and latterly by his aunt and uncle-in-law , in fetlar .
in 1864 , he was sent to aberdeen grammar school , and he remained there until 1868 when he went to king 's college , aberdeen to study for an arts degree , which he did not complete .
his uncle and aunt wished him to train for the ministry , but like his father , his own inclination was for the sea .
with the idea that if he became a doctor he could join the navy , he entered the university of edinburgh to study medicine in may 1871 .
he completed his degree in medicine and surgery in 1875 .
cheyne became the house surgeon to joseph lister , the british founder of antiseptic medicine , in 1876 .
bacteriology had been much researched in france and germany in the 1870s and 80s , but little work was done in the field in britain .
lister was one of the few pioneers of its study in britain .
in 1877 , the two took positions at king 's college hospital , where cheyne served as an assistant surgeon , and later as surgeon from 1880 to 1917 and also as a professor of surgery from 1891 to 1917 .
he was a devoted follower of lister and his antiseptic surgical methods .
cheyne was greatly inspired by the work of german bacteriologist robert koch , and translated his work `` untersuchungen über die aetiologie der wundinfenktionskrankheiten '' -lrb- 1878 -rrb- for the new sydenham society in 1880 , which greatly enhanced the acceptance of bacteriology in britain .
he had a work published in 1882 , `` antiseptic surgery : its principles , practice , history and results '' , and later in 1885 a book , `` lister and his achievement '' .
the work he did in his early career on bacteria and preventative medicine was highly influenced by koch , and in spring 1886 , cheyne visited koch 's laboratory in berlin and studied his methods .
he undertook trials on tuberculin and reported his findings to the rmcs in april 1891 .
he found that giving repeated doses improved the condition of patients , but rarely acted as a cure .
his paper was recognized as the first important contribution to the topic in france .
he was elected a fellow of the royal society in 1894 .
cheyne served as a consulting surgeon for the british military in south africa from 1900 to 1901 .
in a despatch dated 31 march 1900 , the commander-in-chief in south africa , lord roberts , described how cheyne had `` rendered invaluable service by ... advice and assistance to the medical officers '' and `` been unwearying in ... work among the wounded and sick '' .
in 1910 he was made honorary surgeon-in-ordinary to king george v. with the outbreak of world war i , he became a consulting surgeon to the royal navy in 1914 , and in 1915 was for a short time temporary surgeon general , rn .
he was later made surgeon rear-admiral and kcmg .
from 1914 to 1916 , he served as president of the royal college of surgeons of england , and in 1924 he was awarded the inaugural lister medal for his contributions to surgical science .
the following year , he delivered the first lister memorial lecture .
he was made a baronet in 1908 .
in 1917 , he was elected a unionist member of parliament -lrb- mp -rrb- for edinburgh and st andrews universities and for the combined scottish universities in 1918 , holding the seat until he stepped down at the 1922 general election .
he was appointed lord lieutenant of orkney and shetland in 1919 .
cheyne left london in the early 1920s and retired to fetlar .
he resigned his position as lord lieutenant in 1930 .
he died in 1932 at a sanatorium in england after a prolonged illness .
