Person Macewen; Sir; William (1848 - 1924); surgeon Macewen William Sir surgeon 1848 - 1924 British Male Woodend, a cottage near Port Bannatyne, Rothesay, Isle of Bute, Scotland 22 June 1848 18480622 Glasgow 22/03/1924 19240322 Burial: Churchyard of St Blane's Church, Kingarth, Scotland

3 Woodside Crescent, Glasgow, Scotland

surgeon Surgery Neurosurgery Medicine Education: local school in Rothesay; collegiate school in Garnethill (1860); MD (Glasg) (1865-1869); Hon LLD (Glasgow) Career: Assistant surgeon at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary (1875), promoted to full surgeon (1877); developed a surgical pioneering technique to successfully operate on brain abscesses and hematomas and on the spine (1876); demonstrated it was possible to use a precise clinical examination to determine the possible site of a tumour, or lesion in the brain, by observing its effects on the side and extension of alteration in motor and sensory functions (1876); developed bone grafts, and using a special osteotome [now known as Macewen’s osteotome] in knee surgery, both techniques becoming crucial to treating rickets (1877); performed the first successful intracranial surgery where the site of the lesion was localised solely by the preoperative focal epileptic signs (1879); appointed lecturer on Systematic Surgery at the Royal Infirmary School of Medicine (1881); appointed as Surgeon to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow (1883); Regius Professor of Surgery at the University of Glasgow (the post which Lister had held when Macewen was a student) and transferred his surgical activities to the Western Infirmary (1892); helped found the Princess Louise Scottish Hospital for Limbless Sailors and Soldiers in Erskine (now the Erskine Hospital), Glasgow (1916). Honours: Kt 1902 Memberships: FRCS President BMA (1922) Awards/Medals: Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh (1896) Parents: John Macewen (b. 1794), a ship's master, and Janet, née Stevenson. Considered the father of neurosurgery. Contributed to the development of bone graft surgery, the surgical treatment of hernia and of pneumonectomy. Also known for endotracheal anaesthesia. His development of an aseptic procedure for the operating theatre, and his meticulous scientific research methods, heralded the modern era of surgery. Fellow 13/06/1895 47 Alfred Newton; Alex Macalister; Thomas Lauder Brunton; Henry Charlton Bastian; Joseph Lister; David Ferrier; William Turner; John Cleland; Frederick Orpen Bower; Thomas Ri Fraser; George Murray Humphry; Victor Horsley William Turner; John Gray McKendrick; Frederick Orpen Bower; John Cleland; William Tennant Gairdner; David Ferrier; William Watson Cheyne Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB Obituaries: Proc Roy Soc Series B 1924 vol 96 pp xxv-xxix signed by W W C Notes: Second citation and list of proposers from Supplementary Certificate International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa 1996 ISBN 0-9696035-3-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorRaw=Macewen%2C+William 22 Jun 1848 - 22 Mar 1924 The past Fellows entries are under continuous revision. If you have queries or additional information to contribute, please contact Library@royalsociety.org. Content in external sources is not controlled by the Royal Society and historical sources may include content that is now unacceptable. Reviewed on 21/02/2024 as part of the Name Authority Project update. NA2160 21/11/2001 Andyg Pmab 17/03/2026 RS_NET\VirginiaM Yes 93ebbc33-738c-443e-84e4-d4d7aa376589