Hubert Maitland Turnbull facts for kids

Hubert Maitland Turnbull was a very important British doctor who studied diseases. He was known as a pathologist, which means he specialized in understanding how diseases affect the body. He lived from 1875 to 1955 and made big contributions to medicine, especially in studying tissues and organs to find out what caused illnesses.

Early Life and Education

Hubert Turnbull was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on March 3, 1875. His father worked as a manager for a large insurance company called the Scottish Widows Fund. His mother was the daughter of a well-known publisher named Adam Black.

Hubert went to St Ninian's School, Moffat from 1884 to 1888. After that, he attended Charterhouse School from 1888 to 1894. In 1894, he started studying at Magdalen College, Oxford University. He earned his first degree, a Bachelor of Arts, in 1898.

Medical Studies

Hubert continued his studies at Oxford. In 1899, he won a special award called the Hugh Russell Welsh prize for his excellent work in human anatomy and medical drawing.

In 1900, he began studying medicine at the London Hospital. He received his medical degrees (M.B., B.Chir.) from Oxford in 1902. In the same year, he also earned his Master of Arts degree from Oxford and became a qualified doctor (M.R.C.S. and L.R.C.P.).

Medical Career

From February to June 1903, Hubert worked as a house physician at London Hospital. He then had to take a break due to illness. From November 1903 to July 1904, he worked at the London Hospital's Institute of Pathology.

After this, he received a special scholarship called the Radcliffe Travelling Fellowship. This allowed him to study in Copenhagen and Dresden. In Dresden, he worked as a volunteer assistant with a famous pathologist named Georg Schmorl.

Director of Pathology

From 1906 to 1946, Hubert Turnbull was the director of the Institute of Pathology at London Hospital. Under his leadership, this department became very well-known. He made sure that the analysis of tissue samples (called biopsies) and post-mortem examinations (called necropsies) were done with great accuracy.

At London University, he became a reader in morbid anatomy in 1915. Later that year, he became a full professor. In 1924, he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. He retired in 1947 as a professor emeritus, which means he kept his title after retirement because of his important contributions.

Family Life

In 1916, Hubert Turnbull married Catherine Nairne Arnold-Baker. She was the younger daughter of Frederick Arnold-Baker. Hubert and Catherine had four children: Andrew Turnbull, Helen Turnbull, Lieutenant Commander Frederick Richard Arnold Turnbull (who was involved in Operation Crimson), and Dr Adam Turnbull. Dr Adam Turnbull also became a doctor at the Royal London Hospital.

Awards and Honours

• 1929 — Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians
• 1939 — Fellow of the Royal Society (F.R.S.)